《America In Another World》 Chapter 1 – The Satellites Aren’t Broken RonTheBlackCat ??? ??? Hmmmm Not this, nor that. The inhabitants in this one are still using flint spears. Thats not going to be useful at all. No intelligent creatures in that one. A few ??? later ??? What the these are somewhat advanced and look similar to my mortals but they are definitely not acceptable. They look terrifying and whats with their armor. They even have a god-emperor of some sort definitely not using them. Aha! Finally! This one seems fairly advanced, not super terrifying, and the mortals in this one look similar to my mortals. I suppose I should investigate it. I can only use a part of it... ??? later ??? I could just uhhh... use one so I dont disrupt much. Im pretty sure whoever is in charge of this world wont mind. Right? That one seems to be the most powerful one according to this thing that these mortals call the internet, let''s just use that. ??? later ??? AHHH this is far more complicated than I thought... why did they place their military all over this world. I have to make sure that I summon them so that they wont collapse the moment they get to my world. Well, this internet thing is quite useful in making sure I summon everything. July 18th, 2019 AD Heaven Ummm God? What is it my child? I think you have to look at this. God looks down on Earth. ... 0505 July 18th, 2019 CE Washington DC, United States of America The sun was peeking out of the horizon on a seemingly normal day in the United States of America. Since it was about an hour before the rush hour, the streets of its capital made little sound. On a table near a bed, a phone rang. What now. I still have the person on the bed opened his mouth in a yawn and rolled his body towards the clock that was on the table ...an hour and a half. He reached out with his hand and grasped his phone. He slowly put it to his ear. Ugh What is it... This better is important You know how I like to sleep. The voice over the phone line sounded worried. Mr. President! It''s urgent, we need you at the Situation Room now! Sounds like my Chief of Staff, John Wills. Are we getting nuked, invaded, or is there some kind of crisis? No but Not important. The President hung up without waiting to listen. Give me 15 minutes. He mumbled to no one as he closed his eyes. 15 minutes later The President was sitting on his chair in the Situation Room. The Situation Room was a room with one big table and multiple chairs surrounding it. There were also TVs on the walls around the Situation Room and one large TV situated in the back. There were also other rooms around the Situation Room which consisted of officers who were receiving information and processing it. The National Security Council and advisors were all there in their seats and the officers were present in the other rooms. The National Security Council consisted of President Ronell Haye, Vice President Maxwell Wogs, Secretary of State Katerina Clifford, Secretary of Defense Cralson Roberts, Secretary of Energy Coby Elliot, and Secretary of Homeland Security Lenny Clark. The advisors were the Chief of Staff John Wills, National Security Advisor Blair Howards, and Homeland Security Advisor Taylor Sky. Mr. President, you cant always ignore us. John sounded very annoyed. The President sighed. I know John but you should get used to the fact that I like to sleep. The President looks at everyone in the situation room. What is it this time? The last time I was called because of urgent matters was when the Middle East was literally falling apart. What is so important that you have to call me during the most important part of the day. My bedtime. There was a tense silence for a few seconds before John decided to continue talking. Sir, its going to be hard to explain but we think we might not be on Earth anymore. After he said that, the President just sat there and stared at his chief of staff for a good minute. John It might be easier if you look at our satellite images. John swings his chair towards the main TV and turns it on. It showed a planet that was similar in size and shape to Earth. The President stares at the image. What the That seems just like wait, what''s with all these continents. Hmmm that continent seems like North America Canada looks a bit weird and Mexico doesnt exist Are you telling me that thats the United States of America ...Sir that''s what our satellite indicates ...This is not going to be good. Sigh. Great just great. More sleepless nights. Okay. So what do we know? Well, lets at least gather as much info as we can. Well, we are unable to communicate with any foreign countries but we still have all of our satellites. Thats confusing If we are on another planet Why do we have our satellites? How about the satellites of other countries? It seems that only ours are in space. What is this this does not make any scientific sense. It could make more sense if a part of the stuff in space and a part of the Americas to be transported to another place. Like an anomaly that affected that area. However our satellites are quite scattered. We have about 900 of them in space. Its weird since only specifically American satellites got transported. Anything else? If I may Carlson, the Secretary of Defense, was waiting patiently for John to finish. Go ahead, Cralson Well, it seems all of our major foreign military bases are spread out in a pattern across what used to be Canada So in addition to the satellites, our foreign military bases were transported with us. This gets stranger by the minute. How many is that and what do you mean by spread out in a pattern? It should be about 50 in total. In addition, it seems that our men and equipment in minor foreign military installations, on the battlefield, and stationed in other areas that are not in the United States somehow wound up near where the major military bases are. The pattern seems to be naval bases on the coast, army bases inland, and air force bases further inland. They all seem to have a similar distance to each other. Moreover, the ships that we had deployed overseas have reported that their positions have changed to our coasts. They are also spread out in a pattern ...so what I am getting here is that even though the United States is not on earth anymore, anything that belongs to it, even if it wasnt in the United States, also got transported here. Its as if someone picked up the United States and its possessions and deliberately moved it to another world. The phone in the situation room started ringing. The Vice President, Maxwell, picks it up because he was the closest. ...Okay... So all of the foreign ambassadors disappeared okay I will relay this to the President. He puts the phone down What is it, Maxwell? Sir, it seems like all the foreign diplomats in the embassies in the United States have been replaced by their American counterparts. Its probable that people who werent American citizens were transported out. So basically, the assets and the people of the United States from Earth were transported to this place. Except for probably a few minor military buildings and embassies, we can assume that. Huh this solves quite a lot of our issues Like our debt to other countries ...and creates much more. Taylor, do you think we might need to impose martial law in order to keep order? Most likely not, this shouldnt cause major panic and the police can deal with minor unrest. The states themselves can send in the National Guard if things get too out of hand. Well, I suppose I need to prepare for a cabinet meeting and address the nation. How much information should be released? Sigh this is going to be a long day. More nights of not much sleep. 0630 July 18th, 2019 CE The TV crews from all major networks were swarming the North Lawn. The President was in front of his podium with the North Portico in the background. He was about to address the nation on the unprecedented and bizarre situation that had occurred. My fellow Americans, as of 5 a.m. Eastern Time today, the United States finds itself in an unprecedented and bizarre situation. Although we can not confirm everything yet, we seem to have been transported into a new world. The following information is what we currently know. We seem to have lost all contact with our previous world and all non-US citizens have disappeared. However, the people and possessions of the United States, even the ones not on US soil, have been transported along with us. Our military bases in foreign countries have been transported to the lands we considered as Canada in our previous world. All American satellites are currently in the space of this world. My fellow Americans, I ask for all to remain calm as your government seeks more answers. May God bless the United States of American and may he watch over us in this new world. 0645 July 18th, 2019 CE Inside the Cabinet Room, the President and most of his Cabinet were convened for an emergency meeting. The Cabinet included members of the National Security Council and the Chief of Staff. The cabinet meeting also includes the Secretary of the Treasury Stefan White, Attorney General Lara Wallace, Secretary of the Interior Kirby Richmond, Secretary of Agriculture Irving Patton, Secretary of Commerce Michelle Sue, Secretary of Labor Solomon Mcclark, Secretary of Health and Human Services Brady Saunders, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Frances Moody, Secretary of Transportation Daniele Paul, Secretary of Education Leon Crawford, and Secretary of Veteran Affairs Alvin Johns. The President looked at everyone. As all of you have been informed, we have been transported into a new world. Because of this, we have many urgent issues we need to solve in order to survive in this new world. Irving, can we sustain our population using our own production? Mr.President, I can guarantee you that the United States has a rate of more than 100% food self-sufficiency. However, we might be unable to produce some exotic crops. Hmmm we might be able to find some exotic crops in this world. Good. Michelle and Solomon, some of our companies are going to be hit hard by this. Especially the ones that have foreign branches. In addition, some businesses might be hurt by a lack of workers. I need you two to sort this out. Both spoke at the same time. Understood, Sir. Cralson. I need the bases that are in The President paused I suppose we cant call it Canada anymore. He pondered a bit. An alternative name... The Northern Frontier. I want the bases in the Northern Frontier to explore their surrounding area. We are already doing that, Sir, Cralson said confidently. Good. Now, the most important part of this meeting. Coby, can you tell us our oil consumption and production? Im afraid that I might need to make an announcement to the American people that there will be a restriction on oil use. We currently consume about 19 million barrels per day and we produce only about 9.3 million barrels per day. Thats a deficit of about 9.7 million barrels per day. We will need to greatly increase our production to keep up with the consumption. I recommend that as of right now we tap into our Strategic Petroleum Reserves. Its also a good thing that we have about 36.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. So we need to ramp up the production from our oil companies? Thats true, Sir. Good. Well onto the next important resource In addition to our oil issue, we probably need to ramp up mining of metals since we cant import them anymore. Probably easier said than done. The environmentalists are definitely not going to like either of these. Well desperate times call for desperate measures. That reminds me I havent eaten breakfast yet The President immediately stood up and bolted out the door. ... The Secretary of Energy looked at everyone in the cabinet room. ... what was that about? Everyone looked at each other and shrugged. Author’s Ramblings/Satellite Image of the New World RonTheBlackCat https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B83661IQBSNbcTFpamRiMW9jRnJ5UWFMaVltWm5jbUJLSEdR/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-zliU9nSiR0C1l8krqAzySw This is the satellite image that the President saw. New maps will be put out as knowledge of this world expands in the eyes of the US. RonTheBlackCat Chapter 2 – The Civvies, the Military… and the Birds? RonTheBlackCat Neat quote: We are pioneers. And trailblazers. We fight, for freedom. We transform our dreams into the truth. Our struggles, will become a nation. Also, information about the vehicles and guns will be in the footnotes 0600 July 18th, 2019 CE Suburbs of Nashville, United States of America The alarm was beeping like there was no tomorrow. Jack groggily got out of his bed like a zombie after he shut down his alarm. Sigh another day. 45 minutes later After brushing his teeth, taking a shower, and getting dressed, Jack went into the kitchen to cook his breakfast and to make his coffee. A day like any other. Jack brought his cup of joe and his breakfast to the table in front of the couch and reached for his remote. I wonder if anything interesting is happening today. I still have 25 minutes before I need to go. Jack turned on the TV in front of the table and started with his breakfast. <<< ...ruly an unprecedented situation. Many Americans feel apprehensive about the future. Scientists are very baffled at how this could have occurred. For more information on the ongoing situation, we now go live to our White House Correspondent Jimmy Hess. Jimmy, can you explain what the President is doing about this situation. >>> Jack was savoring his bacon when the news caught his attention. <<< Well Jane, the President has just convened an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the current situation and how we should respond. We should be hearing from the President again very soon. There was a long pause. Thank you, Jimmy, for the viewers that are just tuning in for the 7 o''clock morning news, we will replay the Presidents address to the nation. >>> Jack started sipping his coffee while listening closely to the TV. <<< My fellow Americans, as of 5 a.m. Eastern Time todayGod bless the United States of America and may he watch over us in this new world. >>> Jack took the time to process that like a computer that just downloaded a massive file. He then proceeded to stare at the TV in disbelief before ejecting the coffee that was still in his mouth. WHAT THE FUCK! New world?!? What do they mean new world!? Jack fumbled for his remote and started frantically switching through the channels on the TV. It was all about the same situation. <<< In the past, America was called the new world but now we have stumbled upon a true ne>>> <<< ...e be fearful of what this means for the United Sta>>> <<< ...ll Americans react to a new world>>> <<< ...new wo>>> Holy shit! This better is an April Fools joke it''s already past April. Jack then noticed that he spat all of his coffee onto his pants and table. After tidying up, Jack picked up his phone and started dialing his main man Jarry. After a short ring, Jarry picked up. Jarry, man! Have you seen the news? Of course I have! You always seem to be behind on whats happening. Do you know what the exact fuck is happening. Well, it seems like the whole world has gone crazy. According to the news, Mexico is now just an ocean and Canada disappeared. My family also cant contact my grandparents in England anymore 15 minutes later Jack exited his apartment building and got into his car. Im going to be late but Im pretty sure the boss wouldnt mind. I mean like this weird shit thats happening should be enough explanation for why I am late. Sigh I wish that this was just another day. Jack turned on his engine and started to back out. Life seemed somewhat normal even with all this going on. Maybe it is another day... 1059 July 18th, 2019 CE Rose Barracks, Germany Sergeant Kevin Vander was sitting in his room in the barracks and reading a book. He was a driver for an M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicle1 http://www.military-today.com/apc/stryker.htm https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/iav-icv.htm or a Stryker ICV for short. He was part of the Iron Troop of the 3rd Squadron Wolfpack of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the 7th ATC (Army Training Command) under the USAREUR (United States Army Europe) that was based in Germany. Today was just like any other day and it was going to be chow time soon. 1113 ??? July 18th, 2019 CE Rose Barracks, Germany ??? This romance novel is great. I never thought that I would actually like it. Thought it was dumb that Brian actually liked this. All of a sudden, the base alarm started blaring. HUH? What the The PA system came on. ALL PERSONNEL, REPORT TO YOUR UNITS. ALL PERSONNEL, REPORT TO YOUR UNITS. Holy shit. Are the Russians invading? Kevin rushed out of his room and bolted down the stairs. Some of the soldiers that were goofing off in the barracks were already running down the stairs. Although it wasnt full panic, there was an air of urgency. When Kevin exited the barracks, men were running around like ants. Kevin started going towards his troops area ...Something doesnt feel right. Kevin paused and looked up at the sky what the Although it was supposed to be nearly noon, the sun wasnt up in the sky. Instead, it seemed like the sun was just barely coming out of the horizon. Its already past 11 am the sun is supposed to be up there and not down there. It isn''t supposed to be rising like the early morning. What the hell is happening? I hope this isn''t because of the Russians. Kevin arrived at his troops designated area. He went to where his section was. Brandon Watson, a staff sergeant and the commander of Kevins Stryker, and the infantry squad of his Stryker were there. Kevins captain, the commanding officer of the Iron Troop, was at the front of his troop. The other troops of his squadron were on his troops sides with their captains. At the very front and middle was the lieutenant colonel, the commanding officer of the entire 3rd squadron. Once everyone was there, the lieutenant colonel started speaking. Men, our guards have noticed a sudden and unexplainable change in our surroundings. We have also noticed the disappearance of our friends, the Germans. However, we are still able to contact Washington. While the colonel is talking with the high command, he has ordered the 2nd squadron and our squadron to secure a surrounding perimeter about 1.5 miles away from the base. The Regimental Engineer Squadron will be setting up fortifications about 1 mile behind you once the perimeter has been established. Your job after establishing the perimeter is to protect the engineers while they set up the fortifications. The 4th squadron will do recon a while after the perimeter is established. 1150 0450 July 18th, 2019 CE Rose Barracks, Germany somewhere far north of Michigan Kevin was sitting in his Stryker and looking out of the drivers hatch. Their squadron had secured the plains that were east of the base about 15 minutes ago. The 2nd squadron had secured the plains a bit outside of the forests that were far west of the base. The engineers should have started work already on the fortifications behind them. Kevin learned about what was happening by listening to the comm channels. According to the other soldiers who somehow caught wind of what the brass was saying, we were transported to another world along with the other bases and the United States of America. We also seem to be somewhere north of Michigan in what used to be Canada. That would explain why the sun was just rising. Im pretty sure that the Russians or the Chinese maybe even aliens might have used some secret advanced technology to get rid of us. The infantry was standing around in front of the Strykers and talking. Brandon, the staff sergeant, was on the commanders hatch bored looking at the horizon. 0550 July 18th, 2019 CE Rose Barracks, Northern Frontier (far north of Michigan) Kevin overheard from the radio that part of the 4th squadron will arrive in about 15 minutes to do recon outside of the established perimeter. It was already an hour and everyone was as bored as hell since nothing was happening. There was a sense of tension that was mostly dissipated by now. All the squadrons that were protecting the engineers were ordered to retreat behind the fortifications once the engineers were done. It seemed quite calm even though the surrounding seemed like a foreign country. All of a sudden a loud noise was heard in the distance. Huh that sounded like a bird. Everyone in the area turned and looked towards the distance. For a bit, there was nothing. Then A continuous and loud sound began. It sounded like a huge flock of birds. Out of the horizon, a single bird appeared. It seemed like a normal bird. Kevin could see it all the way from here and its size is too normal for that loud of a noise. Wait if we could see it all the way from here... Before Kevin knew what was going on, the font bird propelled itself, dived, and landed in front of the infantry. HOLY BLOODY MARY AND JESUS CHRIST. It was a colossal, red, and vulture-like bird that was about two stories tall. Everyone was stunned and bewildered for a second. One of the infantrymen, Ruth, was standing right below it. RUTH LOOK OUT! Someone shouted and everyone noticed that the bird had its beak open. The birds head dived down and lifted Ruth with its beak. Then the bird pointed its beak upward. Ruths head was in the birds beak and everyone could see that his legs were out of the beak and flailing around. Then he was swallowed. HOLY SHIT! OPEN FIRE OPEN FIRE OPEN FIRE! M4 carbines2 https://www.military.com/equipment/m4-carbine and M249 SAWs3https://www.military.com/equipment/m249-squad-automatic-weapon from the infantry started lighting the giant bird up. The bird reared its head like it was in pain and started screeching Brandon got back into the Stryker and the Strykers .50 cal M2 Browning machine gun started firing. The other Strykers followed. The .50 cals went through the bird like paper. The bird was cut down in an instant. It was a bit of an overkill since they didnt expect this to happen. It seemed as if it was over just then and everyone sighed in relief. Then the radio crackled. It was the captain of our troop who was in another Stryker. We got more company incoming. All Stryker units fire when within range! Infantry retreat behind the Strykers and open fire if the birds get close enough! The 4th squadron is coming in as reinforcement. ETA about 5 minutes. Ah shit Kevin looked through the drivers viewport and saw that a huge flock of birds was drawing near. Their fur color was different from the first and was bright orange. It seemed like a fire was moving toward them from the sky. The rifles and machine guns started firing again. It was the music of the battlefield. Although they were cutting them down by what felt like the hundreds, the birds were getting closer. They had started to back up in order to get some distance. The birds didnt seem terrifying but the amount of them was overwhelming. The Strykers poured heavy machine-gun fire into the flock while the infantry did whatever they could with their rifles and light machine guns. The infantry was more effective when the birds closed in. When a bird started a dive, multiple small arms fire ripped it apart. The birds in front of the massive flock faced hail upon hail of .50 cals from the Strykers which tore through the birds. Then all of a sudden, explosions rocked the air. Several birds fell out of the sky at the same time. Behind the 3rd squadron, there was the 4th squadron Stryker MGSs4http://www.military-today.com/artillery/stryker_mgs.htm??https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/iav-mgs.htm with their 105 mm cannons. The Stryker MGSs had loaded M1040 canister shots which were extremely lethal to massed assaulting infantry. In this case, it seems to be quite lethal to massed assaulting birds. Additional 4th squadron Strykers armed with .50 cals also arrived. Just in damn time Kevins staff sergeant commented. 0615 July 18th, 2019 CE The fight only lasted about 20 minutes before the birds started to retreat. With the help of the 4th squadron, the 3rd squadron was able to hold off against the birds without suffering heavy casualties. The birds got close multiple times but the immense firepower that hammered the birds was enough to ensure that the birds didnt swoop down on them. The canister shots were extremely effective and tore through multiple birds with every shot. Kevin sighed in relief. Well seems like the days are going to be more exciting now. Those damn Russians transporting us to another world. Im pretty sure this is all those damn commies fault. Brandon was looking down at Kevin. You arent thinking that this is the Russians fault are you? Well of course it is what else could it be? Every damn time with you. Its not always the Russians. Then what about aliens? A massive sigh came from Kevins staff sergeant. 0720 July 18th, 2019 CE Washington DC, United States of America I just finished my breakfast what is it this time? The President was back in the Situation Room after being forced to quickly eat his breakfast. I told you guys I will be back once I finish calmly eating. Mr. President, this is extremely urgent and we cant wait for you to finish your breakfast. John you have literally dragged me to this room twice today. Now, what is it? Well Mr. President, it seems like giant birds are attacking our military bases in the Northern Frontier and the towns on the border with it. Giant birds?! We have some footage of one of these in Ogdensburg, New York A shaky video that seems to be taken from a persons iPhone appears. A giant bird appears to land on a street near a Sunoco gas station. Police sirens are also heard in the background. <<>> The video cuts off. This is definitely not our world anymore, isn''t it. How concerning is the current situation? I can imagine all the work I have to do now sigh well, it''s my job and the American people are depending on me. I mean I am dedicated to changing America for the better but what is happening right now is ridiculous. Well, Mr. President, attacks like these are occurring at random places on the border. However, since it''s usually only one bird, police are able to deal with it with small arms. On the other hand, our military bases inside the Northern Frontier are experiencing large numbers of these birds. Currently, most of them have fought them off with minimal casualties. We currently believe that casualties are well below 100. I suppose that this isnt that big of an issue. Increase the DEFCON level to 4 just in case. We also probably need to send in the National Guard to protect the border with the Northern Frontier and supply anti-air to our bases in the Northern Frontier. RonTheBlackCat New World Info RonTheBlackCat Since this is a different world, time and things like that are obviously told differently The New World has a 12-hour system and they name the hours based on activity New World The New World doesn''t have months but seasons. Each season is around 90 days. Eras The New World has two eras like our world. However, they call it differently because of their history. BE (Before Exploration) AE (After Exploration) Chapter 3 – Uncharted Territory RonTheBlackCat Sooo... it turns out that I know a lot of information about the military (vehicles, guns, etc.) but I don''t know anything about how it functions. I tried searching up how the US Navy organized its fleets and I ended up reading an unclassified Pentagon report about creating a 355 ship Navy. Well, I tried my best... better just go off of what I think. Colored Quotes: The green represents the native language (Basically all native languages are this color even if they are different) The black represents English As always info about the vehicles are posted in the footnotes 1300 August 22nd, 2019 CE Washington DC, United States of America It has been a little over a month since the United States had been transported to this world. People are still getting used to it but they have remained relatively calm and no major incidents have occurred so far. Problems with resources were being solved. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was used for a short time while oil companies ramped up production. It was a good thing that the Strategic Petroleum reserve had 713.5 million barrels of oil. President Ronnie Hayes, Secretary of State Katerina Clifford, Secretary of Defense Cralson Roberts, and Secretary of Energy Coby Elliot had been talking for a while in the Oval Office. Mr. President, according to our experts, the Northern Frontier is a treasure trove of resources! My department and the experts believe that the region is rich with oil and a variety of metals. Its perfectly untouched land with a number of resources that are beyond our wildest dreams! That''s pretty good news, Coby. The negative impact we will experience in being transported to this world just lessened by tenfold. However, we still have to worry about those phoenix birds attacking. The President sighed. Cralson decided to interject. Uhhh...well, Mr. President. I believe that our military might be able to push back these phoenixes. Although they come in large groups, they cant launch a massive assault on us. And why is that? That''s because it seems like these birds are separated into something like tribes. They seem to attack and destroy other tribes. Well, that sounds even better. Once we push the birds far enough, we can start exploring and extracting some of the resources that the Northern Frontier can offer us. I feel like Im Thomas Jefferson. Ha. With that out of the way, lets talk about something more complicated. Cralson, your report on the satellite images? What satellite images? Oh for god sakes Cralson! The images of possible civilizations on this planet. Uh oh yeah Mr. President, through our satellite images of this planet, we were able to find civilization. However, we are unsure whether or not they are human civilization or some other possible being. Adjutant, the satellite images. Cralson''s adjutant hands him a suitcase. Cralson opens it up and displays the satellite images on the table. Okay, as you can see here Mr.President, we have found multiple cities scattered throughout this world. This means that there are intelligent beings in this world. From our observation, all the continents are quite populated. One thing we noticed about them was how different the technology level was between them. What do you mean by different? Well, here''s an image of a city on a continent that is about 6,000 or so miles south of us. As you can see, they have medieval castles and seemingly medieval cities. However, if you look at the coast of this continent, there seems to be a large amount of something that looks like World War 1 era coastal guns. In addition, if you look at this continent that is about 6,000 miles southwest of us, they seem to be in the World War 1 era. What is with this disparity? Well, we believe that the more developed nations might be safeguarding their technological advancements from spreading to the less developed nations. It''s like how Great Britain during the Industrial Revolution tried to prevent their technology from spreading. However, in this world, it seems that the developed nations have been more successful. The President considered things and directed a question at the Secretary of State. Hmmm...So how are we supposed to approach these nations? Well, Mr.President we arent quite sure. Heck, we arent even sure if they are human. For all we know, they could be intelligent insects. Im pretty sure that if we try to approach them, we will be fired upon. There seem to be a lot of hostile states. As you can see by the coastal guns of the continents south of us. In addition, if you look at the continent that has World War 1 era technology, you can clearly see a massive no mans land that cuts it in half. It seems to be more militarized than the Korean DMZ. The President looked over the satellite images. Do you think it''s a better idea to let them approach us? I highly doubt they have noticed us yet seeing that no one seemed to live on this continent because of those phoenixes. As of right now, I believe that its for the best that we try to establish communications with the continent south to us seeing that they are the closest and are less of a threat. The only issue is that the fortifications on its coast is like the French Maginot Line from World War 2 except for with much more forts and no weak spots. We arent sure if our ships will be fired upon if they try to get close. Might as well prepare Katerina. I want a couple of ships to depart within a week. I will give you whatever ships that you seem fit to try and meet with these people. Understood, Mr.President. 0500 (Early Hour), Quiet 71st, 195 AE 1000 August 10th, 2019 CE Port of Stelsoll, Kingdom of Albea, Soane Continent It was Early Hour at the Port of Stelsoll, men were loading up a metal ship that was sitting in the port. Chief Mate Henry Rolfe was running to his Captain Captain Raoul, whats happening? Why are we departing so quickly? We just came back from the Septentrio Magus Imperium yesterday. We got orders from the Magusians through the magraph. One of their Great Magus felt a disturbance on Formido. The questioning sailor who was running toward the captain stopped. The Formidon continent? Yes. What else? Theres no other location by that name Henry was visible with fear. Sir! Why do we have to go there? None of us are going to survive if we get near Formido! Havent you heard of those horrifying tales of giant birds devouring men and sinking ships?! Orders are orders. The only reason that the Magusians even allowed me to buy this beauty was that I agreed to pay a high sum, keep the technology secret, and follow their orders when they needed us. The sailor sighed at his captain. Sir. Couldnt we have just bought an armed Soane merchant ship? Why do we have to buy an armed merchant ship built by the Magusians. Its obvious. Soane ships are copied from 145 AE designs of Magusian ships that the Magusians gave to the League. This ship was built by the Magusians in 180 AE. There are massive differences. Look at its beauty and majesticness. No other Soane owns a ship this advanced. The captain started rambling about the greatness of his ship. Uhh Captain? Aaanyways, dont worry about it. We have guns around the ship to protect us. At most this is just a 30-day roundtrip. We only need to take a look at Formido and then return. We dont even need to land. 1000 August 26th, 2019 CE Washington DC, United States of America After the United States was transported to this new world, the Navy decided to reorganize itself and split its ships into 7 fleets that surrounded the United States and the Northern Frontier. Just a few hours ago, a ship was detected by the US First Fleet. The First Fleet patrolled the ocean from Maine to the tip of Florida. The ship was detected miles off the tip of Florida. Through satellite imagery, the ship was identified as a late 18th/early 19th-century steamship. The President was once again in the Situation Room with his Cabinet. People, this will be a very important event in US history. Our first contact with people of another world. Although it isnt under our terms as we wanted it to be, we still have to meet them. We dont know if they will be hostile. We dont know anything. From our satellite images, we can only deduce that they may be inferior to us in technology. However, that might not be the case. We cant just base their capabilities on how they seem. Meanwhile, the USS George Washington1Nimitz-class aircraft carrier https://www.military.com/equipment/nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier https://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=200&ct=4 and its Carrier Strike Group were currently heading towards the steamship. 0500 (Early Hour), Quiet 87th, 195 AE 1000 August 26th, 2019 CE About 40 Miles Off the Coast of Florida Captain Raoul was looking through a spyglass. One of the older and veteran sailors came up to him. Hey, Captain. What ya looking at? There''s nutting out there. It all acalm. The Captain looked at the bearded sailor. Doesnt it seem weird? What ya mean seem weird? Usually at this point, we should be able to spot some of those giant birds in the distance but I see none. Well Captain, we may be lucky. Maybe maybe. The captain went back into the ship after looking for awhile. At this time most of the sailors were relaxing and talking. None of them noticed the ships that were approaching them from the distance. 1009 August 26th, 2019 CE Rear Admiral, we have visual on the steamship. Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Kennedy looked towards the steamship that they were approaching. He was the commander of the Carrier Strike Group that consisted of the Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier that he was on, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser2 https://www.military.com/equipment/ticonderoga-class-cruiser-cg https://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=800&ct=4, two Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer3 https://www.military.com/equipment/ddg-51-arleigh-burke-class-destroyer https://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=900&ct=4, a Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine4https://www.military.com/equipment/virginia-class-attack-submarine-ssn https://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4100&tid=100&ct=4, and a supply ship. Rear Admiral Kennedy thought that the addition of the submarine was overkill. In reality, they probably only needed the aircraft carrier, destroyers, and the cruiser. Although it was only a single steamship, the higher-ups were being very cautious. 0507 (Early Hour), Quiet 87th, 195 AE 1015 August 26th, 2019 CE Captain! There is a big group of ships that are currently approaching us! The crew of the steamship started to take notice and ask questions. Why are there ships so close to Formido? Are those Mach Imperium ships? Some started to feel uncomfortable Turn back! If those are Machian warships, we are done for! A clear and strong voice was heard. It was the Captain. Everyone! Get back to your stations! You are sailors of the Kingdom of Albea, a part of the League of Soan. Have some pride and bravery. A short silence followed. Then Chief Mate Henry Rolfe spoke up. Sir, those could be Machian warships. Chief Mate. Have some sense, what would a group of Machian warships be doing so far away from their home? The Machians should still be tied up in a stalemate and uneasy peace with the Magusians. They wont send any ships to Formido if they dont have to. I get the feeling this related to disturbance that the Great Magus felt. We will close in on those ships. The Captain looked towards the ships. Also Chief Mate Rolfe, tell the magraph operator to send a message to the Magusians. Tell the Magusians that we have discovered ships of unknown origins near the continent of Formido. The crew felt apprehensive but didnt ask any further questions. As the Captain said, they were sailors of their kingdom and the glorious league. Their apprehension grew as they got closer to the ships. The ships looked massive, especially the one in the middle. Their apprehension lessened a bit when they noticed that 3 of the ships had only what seemed to be a singular gun on each of them. The unidentified ships seemed to be a few poorly armed ships protecting a massive merchant ship. On the other hand, although their ship had 8 guns placed around it and the unidentified warships were poorly armed, they were still outnumbered three to one when it came to fighting-capable ship numbers. 1016 August 26th, 2019 CE Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Kennedy looked through his binoculars. Captain Jones, who was the commander of the USS George Washington, was looking too. Rear Admiral, it seems like they noticed us. How should we proceed? I suppose we could try to get closer or we could send an RHIB5 https://www.military.com/equipment/rigid-hull-inflatable-boat https://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=2200&ct=4. Sir, Im against the getting closer idea, they might open fire on us if we get closer. I suggest we send an RHIB so they feel less threatened. RonTheBlackCat The steamship is something like this USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group Chapter 4 – First Contact RonTheBlackCat Nearly forgot to mention something: There are time zones. Primopolis is 3 hours ahead (New World Time) and 6 hours ahead (Our Time) from Washington DC. Industropolis is 4 hours ahead (New World Time) and 8 hours ahead (Our Time) from Washington DC. The top time is the New World Time at wherever that place is while the bottom time will be Our Time in Washington DC. The Kingdom of Albea is in the same time zone as Washington DC. Basically the bolded will be like this: New World Time of that location Our Time of Washington DC Location Colored Quotes: The green represents all native languages (Even if they are different) The black represents English The blue represents Latin/Common Language/Imperial Language (Basically the same thing) Buckle up people cause within a few chapters, the jet fighters are gonna fly and the warships are gonna sail. "To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace" - George Washington 0511 (Early Hour), Quiet 87th, 195 AE 1022 August 26th, 2019 CE About 40 Miles Off the Coast of Florida As the steamship got closer, a smaller ship seems to have appeared from one of the armed ships. Look at that! They seem to be sending some people over. Captain Raoul looked through his spyglass. Let them approach us, we outnumber them and I dont see any weapons. 1022 August 26th, 2019 CE Petty Officer First Class Glenn Jackson was on the RHIB with 11 other seaman and petty officers. They were each carrying an M4 carbine rifle that they received from their destroyers armory. They were on their way to the steamship. Remember, our job is to only tell them to follow our ships so we can get them to land and probably get them to some diplomat that flying into a port in Key West. Dont raise your weapons unless you''re threatened Yes, sir! Oh boy Im definitely not qualified for this. They shoulda send some sort of diplomat or something. A few minutes later They arrived and positioned their RHIB next to the steamship. A rope was thrown down to them That seemed quite hospitable of them. Well up I go. Ah well this was as expected What greeted Jackson on the ship was a few men aiming what seemed to be ancient muskets at him. Jacksons men also got onto the ship and they raised their rifles upon seeing the situation. The moment was tense until a man that was dressed in what seemed like what a captain of a ship from the 18th century would wear stepped forward and offered what seemed to be a handshake. Huh seems like the handshake is multiversal is multiversal a word? Jackson gladly shook his hand smiling. The 18th-century captain smiled back. Nice to meet you. Im Petty Officer First Class Jackson of the United States Navy. I came from one of the ships over there. He just stood there and stared at Jackson in confusion. What? Sorry, I didn''t get that. Can you repeat that. What ah, crap language barrier of course! This is a different world. Ummm do you understand me? Then the captain turned to someone next to him. Rowley, try speaking the Common Language to them. What do I say, sir? Just tell them Nice to meet you and see how he responds The man that the captain talked to looked at us and spoke. Nice to meet you Uhhhh still not English but it sounds weirdly familiar One of the seamen behind Jackson spoke up. Sir, I think that''s Latin. Jackson looked behind him at the seaman that spoke up. The seaman explained. I learned it in high school. Then do you understand what they are saying? It seems like they said something along the lines of Nice to meet you. I dont quite remember much about what I learned in Latin so I cant really speak it. Any of you guys know how to speak Latin? Jacksons entire team shrugged. Uhhh guess I could try gesturing Jackson started pointing at the deck of the steamship and then pointing at the fleet. Then he started gesturing in a waving motion towards his fleet. This feels dumb The captain was confused at first but something sparked in his eyes. He started by pointing to himself and then at his ship and then pointed towards the fleet. Jackson immediately nodded and hoped that he understood. 0515 (Early Hour), Quiet 87th, 195 AE 1030 August 26th, 2019 CE Captain Raoul watched as the weirdly uniformed men that came from those ships got off of his ship. A sailor piped up. What did they want Captain? I think they wanted us to follow them. Follow them? They may be trying to bring us to their base. I think we should follow. Another sailor joined the conversation But Captain, it could be a trap. Discussion among the other sailors started to erupt. Some wanted to turn back while others wanted to sally forth for adventure. The Captain raised his voice. They are too poorly armed to make this trap successful. We could stay a distance behind them but still follow. We were tasked with this job and I want to see it through. Chief Mate Rolfe. Yes, sir? Have we gotten a reply from the Magusians. Seeing that our magraph operator has yet to report, I believe it takes around 15 minutes to get a message to them using magic. 0820 (Early Hour), Quiet 87th, 195 AE 1040 August 26th, 2019 CE Primopolis, Septentrio Magus Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent A tired and haggard man was sitting in his chair looking over papers on his desk. Although he was only 51, he looked like someone who just turned 65. There was pounding on the door. Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Colerius Arstant, the 4th Emperor of the Septentrio Magus Imperium, calmly replied. Enter. Your Majesty! Colerius looked up from his papers. Yes? You have cal His personal messenger cut him off and started rapidly speaking. WegotreportthattheshipwesenttohadgottenhadseenothershipnotMachianasbutonFormido. Colerius smiled lightly and started chuckling. Your Majesty? His personal messenger was a fumbling young man named Robertus Casca. The main reason that he was Coleriuss personal messenger was that he was fast. However, there was a problem. The problem was that he was fast at everything. Speaking included. But this made the day feel easier for Colerius. Something calmed him about this overexcited and bumbling young man. Colerius smiled. Calm down, Robertus. I couldnt understand what you said. Now, what report? Uh, yes your majersty! I mean your majesty! Robertus started calming down. We got a message from the Albean ship that was sent to check out the disturbance that was felt by the Great Magus. It appears there was a group of mysterious ships there. They dont seem to belong to any known nation. It is possible they came from Formido and was related to the disturbance. Colerius was immediately interested. 1230 August 26th, 2019 CE Near Key West, Florida Rear Admiral Kennedy was standing in the bridge. When the team sent to establish contact with the steamship came back, they learned two things. First of all, it seems that the people on the steamship seem to speak Latin. Washington was informed about this. They are now trying to get a Latin translator to the diplomat in Key West. Second of all, their guns are even more ancient than the steamship. They seem to be using some type of matchlock musket. Now they were closing in on the Key West. It took them an hour longer than expected because of the slow speed of the steamship. It really seemed to be from the 19th century. 0615 (Mid Hour), Quiet 87th, 195 AE 1230 August 26th, 2019 CE The sailors had noticed the giant ships seemed to be much faster than their ship. It greatly confused them and they wondered if these weird ships came from one of the empires. No ship that big could be that fast unless it was from one of the empires. It couldnt possibly be from the Magusians since the Magusians asked them to come here. They hoped it wasnt a trap by the Machians. On the other hand, the lack of weaponry on the weird ships felt a bit reassuring. They also noticed that they were closing in on what seemed to be a small island with what seemed to be a city on it. The Magusians had given Captain Raoul many orders through the magraph. First of all, Captain Raoul needed to observe these ships and learn more about them. Second, the Magusians wanted him to contact them immediately through the magraph if these mysterious people lived on the Formidon continent. The Magusians also told Raoul to stay there if they lived on Formido. The Magusians would send diplomats that would arrive within 7 days to establish relations with them and learn how they were able to live on Formido. From what Captain Raoul could see, it seems like they lived in a big city on an island that was very close to Formido. Rolfe, tell the operator to tell the Magusians that they seem to live very close to Formido on an island. Yes, sir. 0623 (Mid Hour), Quiet 87th, 195 AE 1246 August 26th, 2019 CE Key West Captain Raoul, Chief Mate Rolfe, and a few sailors including Rowley stepped down onto what seemed to be a port and surveyed the area. The giant ships also docked near them. Two men dressed in suits approached him. One of the men spoke. Hello! Do you understand me? Rowley was excited and quickly looked to his captain. Sir! They can speak Common Language! Rowley then looked towards the man. Yes! The man shook hands with Rowley. Nice to meet you. Im Luke Hoffman. Im a translator. Im Rowley Paulin. Im also a translator. The man to my right is the captain of my ship, Jacob Raoul. He cant speak the Common Language. Common Language? What you are speaking right now. Ah. The captain interrupted. Rowley, what is he saying? Rowley explained. When Rowley stopped explaining, Luke started talking. To my right is a diplomat representing the government of the United States of America. Clark Underwood. United States of America? My countrys name. Rowley and Luke turned towards their superiors and explained what had just been said. The captain proceeded to shook hands with the diplomat. From this point on Luke and Rowley translated whatever was said. As you know Im Clark Underwood, a diplomat assigned to you. I will be representing my government. I hope we can get along. Likewise. Im the Captain of this ship. We are Albeans sent here by the request of the Septentrio Magus Imperium. Albean? Septentrio Magus Imperium? "Countries. My countrys name is the Kingdom of Albea. We are allied with the Septentrio Magus Imperium. The Septentrio Magus Imperium may send actual diplomats to meet with you. We are only here because they requested us when their Great Magus felt a disturbance. Clark was confused. Great Magus? Disturbance? What is he talking about? I suppose I should just go along. Well, we dont know much about this world since we only arrived here about a month ago. We are Americans. The difference between how time was told was somewhat confusing but the translators were able to explain to each other what they were talking about. Arrived here only a third of a season ago? Yes, my country was inexplicably transported here from our world. Now it was Raouls time to get confused. We ourselves dont understand what happened. Anyways, what are your current plans? My government will accommodate you in every way possible. Raoul decided to think about it later. We will be staying here for about 7 days while the diplomats from the Magus Imperium travel here. Since you are staying here for a while, I suppose you can visit one of our bigger cities. Bigger city? We are currently in a small city called Key West. Raoul thought to himself. Well, there is no palace or castle or anything here. They must be taking us to their capital. Probably another island. If you dont mind, Luke and I will be boarding your ship. One of our ships will lead you there. How will the Magusian diplomats know where we are? Once our ships spot them, we will guide them over. Luke and Clark boarded the steamship and Captain Raoul told his crew to set sail and followed one of the armed American ships towards the city called Miami. Captain Raoul personally went to the magraph operator and gave a message about what he found out. He also told the magraph operator to ask for Magusian diplomats. 0300 (Early Hour), Quiet 88th, 195 AE 2200 August 26th, 2019 CE Industropolis, Mach Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent Your Highness, we have gotten reports from the spies we sent to the Septentrio Magus recently. The new wireless telegraphy technology has proven its use. There is some information on here that may interest you. Desmond Industrus, the 5th Emperor of the Mach Imperium, was viewing the report that his servant gave him. His advisor was talking to him. A possible country on Formido thats interesting. It is possible that they are descendants of the people that we sent there decades ago. Well sir, then that means that they should still be your subjects. Chapter 5 – New Knowledge RonTheBlackCat You might be wondering why this so early... well I''m being dragged elsewhere by my dad. He gave me a heads up about it so I tried to type this chapter out as fast as possible. So this Sunday''s update will be today. Next week should be back to normal. Colored Quotes: The green represents all native languages (Even if they are different) The black represents English The blue represents Latin/Common Language/Imperial Language (Basically the same thing) "Si vis pacem, para bellum" 0900 (End Hour), Quiet 87th, 195 AE 1800 August 26th, 2019 CE Near Miami The steamship was passing by Miami towards Port Everglades under the escort of an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer. Captain Raoul was staring at the skyscrapers of Miami in amazement. My angel, the only countries that are capable of building these are the Imperiums. Chief Mate Rolfe disagreed. Well, sir, that''s not quite true. The lost country of the elves could. Its said that they did it better. A young sailor interjected. Elves? Their just a myth made up by old geezers. Rolfe looked toward the sailor. There are clear records of their existence. They lived on a continent near the Magus Imperium. Then where is the continent. They say it disappeared. So you have no proof. Captain Raoul wasnt listening and started muttering. They seem taller than the Tower of Magic in Primopolis. Thats impossible. To build so much of these tall structures this country may be on par with the Imperiums. The Chief Mate was listening closely. Captain, we cant just base their technology level on how tall their buildings are. 2000 August 26th, 2019 CE In a hotel near Port Everglades Diplomat Underwood was in a hotel room. They had reached Port Everglades only about 30 minutes ago. Captain Raoul decided that it was late and he wanted to have dinner and rest. Underwood was thinking about accommodating them with hotel rooms but wasnt sure if it was a good idea. Captain Raoul said that he and his sailors were perfectly fine with staying on their ships. Underwood posted a lot of soldiers around the ship to protect them. It was also out of caution to make sure that none of them snuck out. Underwood agreed to let Captain Raoul and a few of his sailors tour the city tomorrow after an informational meeting. Underwood was under orders to gain information about this world from Captain Raoul. 0800 August 27th, 2019 CE In a hotel meeting room near Port Everglades Diplomat Underwood, Translator Hoffman, and a few other personnel were present on one side of a long table. Captain Raoul, Translator Paulin, Chief Mate Rolfe, and a few other sailors were present on the other side. They had gone through introductions. Diplomat Underwood started to talk with the help of his translator. I suppose we should tell you about our country before you talk about your world. Sure. As you already know, my country is called the United States of America. We come from another world that we call Earth. Our land area is about 9,833,517 square kilometers. We have a population of about 300 million people. Our language is English. We are a constitutional federal republic or simply a democracy. Our capital city is Washington DC which is a city further north of us. Captain Raoul, having basically accepted the Americans claim of being from another world since the existence of a country on this continent was supposed to be impossible, commented in surprise and disbelief. Thats quite a large amount of people. Our most populated country is about 100 million. And we never had a successful democracy in history. You are also telling me that this isnt your capital city? Miami isnt a large or major city. We have much bigger cities than this. Thats the basic information about our country. Can you tell us about your world? They could be lying. Even if it is true, they shouldnt be better than the Magus. Captain Raoul decided it was best to calm down and proceeded to explain and answer questions about his world. 1030 August 27th, 2019 CE In the hotel With the informational meeting finished, Diplomat Underwood was getting them ready for their tour of Maimi. The other personnel had already written a report about what they had learned and sent it to the government. Captain Raoul had consistently praised the Septentrio Magus Imperium during the informational meeting. During the tour, the group wasnt that surprised about the car seeing that there were cars in the Imperium but were interested in it. Captain Raoul, the only person among his group who has been to Primopolis and ridden a car, was surprised by its features and speed. Captain Raoul was surprised about how seemingly advanced the car was when compared to one from the Magus Imperium. The group with the exception of Captain Raoul was very fascinated by the city. Captain Raoul showed interest and commented about how it was similar to Primopolis. 1100 August 27th, 2019 CE Washington DC Once again President Ronell Haye found himself in the Situation Room. At this point, I should just live here. Mr. President, we have received and compiled the report from the information that was given to us by the captain and crew of the steamship. Basically, we can split this information into three parts. The history, geography, current relations, and the technological capabilities of each country. Lets start with history. Secretary of State Katerina Clifford was giving the President and the rest of the department heads a briefing about what they had learned. The President interrupted. How long will this be? I have lunch at twelve. It shouldnt take that long. Then by all means continue. The history of this world is centered around the Imperatoria continent which is located here. There was a big satellite image displaying the world. The Secretary of State pointed towards the large continent that was east of the United States. This worlds lingua franca, the Common Language which is also known as the Imperial Language, and date system came from here. They have two eras like us. However, they call it Before Exploration, BE for short, and After Exploration, AE for short. BE is counted like BCE while AE is counted like CE. I will be giving a crash course on the important parts of their history. On the Imperatoria continent at around 770 BE, the Empire was formed after the Kingdom of Geforius slowly defeated the rest of the countries on the continent. Wait it was called the Empire? Nothing else? Thats what they named it, at that time, no one on the continent was interested in venturing far on the ocean so they thought that the continent was the entire world. Anyways, for about 770 years, the Empire prospered on the continent. At the year of 0, the Empire decided to start exploring the world beyond the ocean out of curiosity. Thats why the eras are named that way. When they started discovering different continents, they established friendly relations with the natives. Most of this didnt really have a major impact on the Empire. Expect for one continent that wasnt located that far from the Imperitoria continent. The Continent of the Elves that is located here. The Secretary of State pointed to the ocean below the Imperitoria continent. The President was confused Wait thats just ocean. What continent? We are getting to that. The elves had a major impact on introducing magic to the Empire. The elves were also a bit more technologically advanced when compared to the Empire. The Empire learned a lot about the elves. However, around 50 AE, the elves kicked all humans off of their continent and disappeared. What do you mean disappeared? The entire continent was just gone the next day. According to the crew of the steamship, some say it never existed. However, there is clear evidence that the Empire discovered magic during their explorations. When their last king died with no heir in 76 AE, the Empire was split in a civil war between the nobles that saw magic as evil and the ones that embraced magic. The nobles that embraced both magic and technology formed their own country called the Septentrio Magus Imperium. The nobles that embraced only technology and shunned magic created the Mach Imperium. They fought wars against each other and spread their influence to other continents. That would be the situation today. Next, we will be talking about the geography of this world. There are six continents in this world. The Imperitoria continent contains the Septentrio Magus Imperium to the south and the Magus Imperium to the north. Interestingly, according to our translator, septentrio means north in Latin. It seems that to them, our north is their south while our south is their north. Before the President could question it, she moved on. The Continent of Soan also known as Soane contains many kingdoms and is where the crew of the steamship is from. The Elevn continent may or may not exist. The Continent of Formido also known as Formidon is the continent we are on. Bem which is a continent north of Imperitoria. And the Insula Continent which is this group of big islands. Through this lecture, she was pointing at the locations on the map. The President was getting very bored. Now we talk about relations. As I have said, this world seems to be centered around the Imperitoria continent. Which means the Mach Imperium and Septentrio Magus Imperium. Those two countries are sworn enemies of each other. The kingdoms on Soane are allied to each other in this alliance called the League of Soan. They support the Magus. The Kingdom of Bem, which is the main country on the continent of Bem, supports the Mach. According to the crew of the steamship, its more like a satellite state. The relations of the Elven continent are unknown seeing that it disappeared. The Insula continent is like a battleground for the Imperiums. This is because they were no original humans on it. Its populated by an assortment of fantasy creatures. Orcs, goblins, beastmen, and many different creatures. Both Imperiums have sent forces trying to colonize it and are fighting over it. The continent that we are currently inhabiting originally had natives that were one of the least technologically advanced of this world. The Mach Imperium tried to subdue and colonize the natives. At first, they were successful but the phoenixes appeared and killed all humans that lived on the continent. According to the magicians of the Magus Imperium, it could have been summoned by a native who wielded a large potential of magic but couldnt control the phoenixes it summoned. Thats an overall simplified version of the relations of the countries. The Presidents interests perked when he heard about the phoenixes. So basically, the phoenixes arent natural? We could say that. I get the feeling that even if it is a fact that the phoenixes arent supposed to exist, some will still complain about us killing them. Onto the most important part. The technological capabilities. From our satellite images and the information we gained, we know a lot. The Imperiums have technology comparable to a peak World War 1 era nation. The Bem Kingdom is the Revolutionary War era. The Soane League is the medieval era. So basically no one is really a threat to us. That should be guaranteed. The Secretary of Defense, Cralson, interrupted. There is one place that might have some issues. All eyes were on him. Uhhh according to some people at my department, some battleships have enough armor to withstand a couple of hits from our ASMs (Anti-Ship Missiles). What Im most worried about would be if they have anything comparable to a World War 2 battleship. Those can probably withstand ten or something ASMs. So what youre telling us is that our main weapon against other ships cant sink a World War 2 battleship. Wellll yeah but bombs, torpedoes, and anti-tank missiles can easily destroy a battleship. Well Cralson, tell me, do we need to produce a new type of anti-ship missile that can destroy a battleship. Uhh Mr. President, we could but we can just barrage the battleship with a ton of ASMs. After multiple hits, it should be disabled. Then why are you telling me this when we could disable it with ASMs. Ehhh Im telling you just in case. As long as the enemy doesnt have an absurd amount of battleships, we should be fine. 0800 September 2nd, 2019 CE 0400 (Early Hour), Quiet 94th, 195 AE Port Everglades Diplomat Jacques! I didnt expect you to come here! Captain Raoul! How are you doing! RonTheBlackCat Updated map https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B83661IQBSNbZHlsdDFEU2lKUTM4WjkxTE85Mjk2b0xXcTZF/view?usp=sharing Chapter 6 – The Imperiums RonTheBlackCat Heres a map of the world. The dots on the map are the capital cities https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B83661IQBSNbZHlsdDFEU2lKUTM4WjkxTE85Mjk2b0xXcTZF/view?usp=sharing The green represents all native languages (Even if they are different) The black represents English The blue represents Latin/Common Language/Imperial Language (Basically the same thing) "May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won''t" - General George S. Patton https://youtu.be/Q65KZIqay4E God Bless the U.S.A. by Lee Greenwood Images of the Mach Imperium vehicles are shown in the bottom note 0403 (Early Hour), Quiet 94th, 195 AE 0806 September 2nd, 2019 CE Port Everglades, United States of America, Formidon Continent When I heard you were involved, I requested to be sent here and the Emperor accepted. He even appointed me as the Main Diplomat. That sounds great! I cant thank you enough for allowing me to acquire that magnificent steamship. You dont have to thank me. Were friends! 0815 September 2nd, 2019 CE Diplomat Underwood was leading Captain Raoul, Translator Paulin, and the Magusian diplomats toward a car. It seemed like Captain Raoul knows the Magusian Ambassador. The Magusian was talking to him in the Albean language and seemed quite happy. The US navy had detected and guided the Magusian diplomat ship and its escorts to Port Everglades. There Diplomat Underwood greeted the Magusian diplomats. The Magusain Ambassador introduced himself as Main Diplomat Jacques. There were two other Magusian diplomats. 0430 (Early Hour), Quiet 94th, 195 AE 0900 September 2nd, 2019 CE In a hotel meeting room near Port Everglades Once again, they were in the meeting room where they had held the informational meeting. This time, instead of Captain Raoul and his crew, it was Captain Raoul and the Magusian Diplomats. After more basic introductions and Diplomat Underwood explaining about his country, the main part of the meeting came. Our government is looking to establish relations with the Soane League and the Septentrio Magus Imperium. We want to send diplomats to your countries, In addition, we are also interested in the possibility of opening trade. Ambassador Jacques was the one who replied. Although we are interested in what you have just said, we have a more important matter that we want to attend to first. What is it? We would like to present an important treaty to your President. In order to get that to our President, we will have to look through it first. The treaty which was written in Latin was handed to Underwood who gave it to Translator Hoffman. Hoffman looked through it. He turned to Underwood and started explaining. This seems to be a defense pact. It says that the Septentrio Magus Imperium will provide defense, necessary weaponry, and the men required to operate the weaponry to the signatories while the signatories will provide men, requested equipment, and requested goods to the Septentrio Magus Imperium for free during its times of war. The Septentrio Magus Imperium also requires a monthly payment for the defense. The specific payment and amount of troops will be discussed and negotiated depending on circumstances. Payment can range from slaves to gold. I dont think we can accept this. My country... Ambassador Jacques cut him off. I think we need to elaborate on the dangers you face. The Mach Imperium will definitely target you. The Formido continent is a land full of resources. Full might be an understatement. Its overflowing with resources. Many decades ago, the Mach Imperium tried to wipe out the natives and acquire the resources so that they didnt have to bother with trading. If they know that you exist and that the giant birds are gone, they will definitely try to wipe you out to gain the resources. We fear that they may already know of your existence. My country knows that spies have infiltrated us but we dont know who. The spies may have already told them. We still dont think our country will require your help in a conflict with the Mach Imperium. Then allow me to elaborate on their fearful weaponry. The Septentrio Magus Imperium knows perfectly well the power of the Mach Imperium. We have so far fought 4 wars with them. They have all ended in a stalemate with one side gaining some land and nothing else. As of right now, our army is on par and in some areas superior to theirs. They have guns. Guns are We know what a gun is. Ambassador Jacques paused for a second. That does make sense. With your ships and buildings, you should know what a gun is. Well, they use guns called bolt action rifles and machine guns. Here are some pictures. Their machine guns, called the AG-2, are frightening. They have thousands of these and it can fire 500 rounds per minute. Ambassador Jacques was watching Underwoods expressions. Its either hes very good at keeping calm or that his country already has machine guns. Moving on. They have a menacing armored vehicle called a tank. Heres a picture of their tank called the Industro II. They have about a thousand of these. Its armor can go up to 22mm thick. It is armed with a 40mm cannon. Underwood just nodded his head. Ambassador Jacques was surprised. Do they have tanks? They probably do My countrys tanks are slightly inferior and we cant produce as many guns or tanks but our magic makes up for it. We have Earth magic that can act as a gun or anti-tank weapon depending on how powerful the Magus is. We also have Shield magic to protect our soldiers. Basically, our army can face them as equals. Our navy may be somewhat inferior to the Mach. However, that is fixed by my countrys use of coastal guns. Coastal guns are offered to all of our allies as a way to defend themselves against the Mach. The coastal guns are guaranteed for your country if this treaty is accepted. Machian ships are truly terrifying. I have seen your countrys ships but they are no match for the Machian battleship when you compare their size and weaponry. This is a picture of their Desmond-class battleship. As you can see, it has 6 turrets with 12-inch guns. They have about 26 of these terrifying ships. I see. I see? Thats it? Even our country was surprised and panicked when our spies found out about this ship. We spent a lot of resources improving these coastal guns so they have a chance against these battleships. We also have 5 barely comparable battleships and we dont have enough Maguses that have enough power to put up a shield around the entirety of our ships. And all hes saying is I see? Ambassador Jacques started to look a bit unhappy. Diplomat Underwood noticed. Are you fine. Ah. Yes. Im fine. They also have this thing called a plane that is able We know what a plane is. Ambassador Jacques looked up and shook his head lightly. Sure. Here is a picture of their Maximil fighter aircraft. It is armed with two of their standard machine guns. Our countrys air force is on par with them. Our flame breathing dragons that can carry Maguses can take down any Mach aircraft. Ambassador Jacques paused in an effort to let it sink in a bit before continuing. Recently, through their increasing technological capabilities, they have been becoming more and more powerful. Our Imperiums technology may be lagging behind theirs but our magic greatly makes up for it. Our country is willing to help you in any way possible as long as you agree to this treaty. I will repeat what I said before, we will not accept it. Our country is not willing to immediately agree to a treaty that may drag us into a war. Ambassador Jacques tried to press on. You are making a terrible decision here. Our country also doesnt want a war with the Mach. By signing this treaty, this ensures that we prevent the Mach from invading you and growing stronger by gaining the resources of this land. If this land is so full of resources, wouldnt they try to start a war anyway? No, as long as they know that we are supporting you, they will think twice before starting a war with you. Our army and air force are a force that cant be ignored. Our country isnt willing to agree to something that may require us to fight your war. As of right now, our country is more willing to agree to a non-aggression pact. Can you at least give the terms of this treaty and these pictures to your President We can do that but it is unlikely that he will agree. Though the non-aggression pact, trade, and our wish of sending diplomats to your country is still on the table. As of right now, we would like to establish a temporary embassy in this city and get a response to this treaty from your leader before we continue. That can be arranged. 0942 September 2nd, 2019 CE Washington DC, United States of America, Formidon Continent Yeah, we cant accept this. I mean it''s ridiculous. We have to pay them monthly and give them a ton of free stuff during war. This also basically requires us to house foreign soldiers on our soil. At most, I can accept a mutual defense treaty thinking about it, the mutual defense treaty is still a bit overboard. The chances of it passing Congress are slim. I mean look at these weapons and their descriptions. The capabilities confirm the Mach to only be a peak World War 1 nation. We can easily defeat them. The Secretary of State, Katerina Clifford, had given the President the details about the diplomatic meeting with the Magusians. Diplomat Underwood, the diplomat we had down there, had suggested that we can at least give them a non-aggression pact. Well, lets see if they can agree to a non-aggression pact. 0500 (Early Hour), Quiet 94th, 195 AE 1000 September 2nd, 2019 CE In a hotel meeting room near Port Everglades This area seems good. Well then, we can arrange that easily. The diplomats were discussing the location of the temporary embassy. Then the phone rang. Diplomat Underwood had sent the information about the meeting through others since he had to continue on with the meeting. Now the Secretary of State herself was directly calling him. <<>> Diplomat Underwood nodded and hung up. Ambassador Jacques was curious. What was that? This is a telephone that my country commonly uses for long-range communications. I got a call from my superior about the treaty that you presented us. The Magusian diplomats were surprised that the Americans had a telephone and were interested in its weird shape. More and more, it seemed to them that this country called the United States of America may be on par with them or the Mach. The buildings and some technology of the Americans seemed like it. Their reaction to the weapons also made sense if that was true. So what was the reply from your President. As I have said, we cant agree with your treaty. However, we can agree to a non-aggression treaty. Well, that is disappointing to hear. We will discuss this non-aggression treaty that you proposed in the future. Allow us to continue talking about establishing this temporary embassy. 0700 (Mid Hour), Quiet 95th, 195 AE Port Bannock, Mach Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent 2 Desmond-class Battleships, 8 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 20 destroyers were leaving port. Force A, a naval squadron put together by the Mach Imperium in a week, was steaming towards the Bem Kingdom in order to gather more forces. 7 days earlier 0600 (Mid Hour), Quiet 88th, 195 AE Industropolis, Mach Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent Whether or not they are descendants of our people, I dont care. That continent is full of untouched resources. If we could get our hands on it, we can build a bigger navy than our current 230 ships and an army with thousands of tanks! Think about it your highness! Think about it! Thousands upon thousands of tanks rolling through no mans land as we smash through the Magusian defenses! Hundreds of ships shelling their coastal defenses while they try to feebly counterfire! With an army and navy like that, the Magusians will stand no chance! We need to subjugate that nation on the Formidon continent as quickly as possible. A seemingly crazed man was talking to the Emperor. That crazed man was the war advisor and head general of the Mach military. We can send a naval squadron to do that." Sir, just a naval squadron is not enough, we need to send soldiers to completely subjugate the land. Then send Bem soldiers. Why include the Bems? We can send our own soldiers. Have you forgotten what happened when my great grandfather tried to take over that continent? Thousands of Machian soldiers were slaughtered when the birds appeared. Only the navy was able to escape. Im not doing a repeat of that. Were sending a naval squadron with soldiers from Bem. We can spare some resources as a reward for their kingdoms participation. As you wish your majesty. I will prepare a squadron and notify the Bem of our intentions. RonTheBlackCat Rifle AG-2 (Apparatus Gun which is latin for Machine Gun) Industro II Has a slightly bigger gun than shown in the picture (The picture shows a 37 mm instead of a 40 mm) Desmond-class battleship Maximil figthe Chapter 7 – Become Our Vassal State RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Hi guys! I have been very busy recently (A literal avalanche of homework) and I noticed the spike in comments. I will try my best to respond to them. Also, I can''t thank you guys enough for getting me into Trending. A double release might come out soon (Give me a couple of weeks for the homework giving to calm down). "War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want" - General William Tecumseh Sherman https://youtu.be/ruNrdmjcNTc - Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue by Toby Keith 1000 (Early Hour), Quiet 94th, 195 AE Primopolis, Septentrio Magus Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent News about how the meeting went with the Americans and the information gained about the Americans were reported to Emperor Arstant. I suppose we can agree to their non-aggression pact. Even though Robertus was only a messenger, he was also a close friend and advisor. He may not have as much experience as the actual older advisors and he may get easily excited but he is bright. Your majesty, if I may express my opinion. Go ahead. I believe that they might have refused because the required payment might be a bit too high. You have always expressed that Casca. It definitely wasnt because of this. According to the report, Jacques told me that the United States wasnt willing to agree to our defense treaty because they felt that this will get them involved in wars. You should also think about the reason why our payment is so high. The reason why we have that payment is because of the stress on our Imperium and the resources we have to expand. We are like a... world police that ensures the safety of the other nations. We must accomplish this duty while still taking care of our own country. Why must our Imperium be like a world police? Well Cascus, the reason is that there is no other nation strong enough to counter the Mach who is the criminal. If there were, I would gladly let them take care of the world. I myself am getting tired of always having to keep the Mach in check. If only there was another country. 1500 September 5th, 2019 CE Washington D.C., United States of America, Formidon Continent President Hayes was enjoying a nice glass of sweet tea in his office and was looking over various reports. Sheesh Im tired. All I wanted was a quiet term to serve and lead my country. At least nothing else is happening and things are going great. Fuel problems are resolved. Relations with other nations in this world are being established. The phoenixes have been pushed back to the ridges of the Northern Frontier and companies have begun setting up mines and other things there. Some people have even started to settle the land. A defining feature of the American past. The Wild West. I wonder if the Northern Frontier can be something like that. A revival of a defining feature of American history. There are some minor issues as of right now but nothing too major. Some people are protesting the massacre of the phoenixes and some companies have been impacted badly from being cut off from our original world. Nothing too bad. Congress is also passing quite a few laws. I was very surprised at the amount. Usually, it takes them ages to get something passed. The most important of them would probably be the Technology Safeguard Act. Just something to make sure we maintain technological supremacy. I hope this calm goes on. As my motto says Work hard and fix everything first, then be lazy. I will be so unhappy if someone tried to invade us or start a war or something. Unknown to the President, hes going to be very unhappy very soon. Somewhere in the ocean between the Bem Kingdom and Formidon at night. Two fleets of ships were making their way towards the Formidon continent. Accompanying the Machian squadron is 20 Bem ships of the line carrying 2,000 soldiers. The Bem ships of the line were in a columnar formation. On the flagship, a Bem admiral in his quarters was drinking some liquor with his vice admiral. Damn Mach thinking they can do whatever they want and damn king licking their feet. Admiral, those are treasonous words but I do agree. This is a suicide mission. A nation on Formidon. Pffft. Last I heard, it was infested with man-eating birds. The admiral downed a glass of liquor and continued rambling. He was missing his family and home. The people hate that the king listens to the Mach. The Mach literally is the king of our king. We cant do shit. He drank another glass and slammed it down. Further ahead of the Bem fleet was the ships of the Mach. On a Desmond-class battleship. Another admiral was talking with his close aides. They were enjoying some fine wine. This will probably be an easy conquest. A bunch of savages that just sprouted up as a nation after the birds disappeared. The Machian diplomat among them joined in. Although they are a bunch of savages, we are still required to try to make them a vassal state. Wastes fewer resources than fighting them. Of course, I do hope that they disagree so we can show them the might of our glorious Imperium. To our Imperium! The people in the rooms raised their cups. Glory to our Imperium. May it last a thousand years. Unknown to them, the Mach Imperium will probably not last another year. In a random bar in Industropolis on the same night The room was filled with people talking about various things. It ranged from personal matters to current state affairs. A common topic was the nation on Formidon. It started after people noticed and spread the news of the gathering of ships at Port Bannock. The Emperor wasnt that concerned about keeping it a secret so it soon got out that there was a nation on Formidon. Two men, acquaintances from work, had begun talking about it. Finally with this, we can win against those pigs. I dont understand how conquering a bunch of savages will help us against the Magus. You numbskull. Is there only air in that brain of yours. The reason why we wanted to conquer that continent in the past and now is the resources. Whatever, I relatively dont care about this politics stuff. As long as it doesnt affect me. On the subject of me being a numbskull, does your wife know youre here? 0930 September 6th, 2019 CE 0545 (Early Hour), Quiet 98th, 195 AE Miami, United States of America, Formidon Continent Diplomat Underwood and Translator Hoffman had come to the temporary Magusian embassy after Ambassador Jacque called him about urgent matters. Our spies say that a Machian naval squadron consisting of around 30 warships are sailing towards you. Do you know what their intent is? We arent quite sure but we believe that they may be on their way to invade you. 0950 September 6th, 2019 CE Washington D.C., United States of America, Formidon Continent <<< Mr.President! We need you in the Situation Room now. This is urgent! >>> I got a bad feeling about this A few minutes later in the Situation Room ...Great I really shouldnt have thought of that yesterday. The President and the rest of the National Security Council learned that the Magusians had intelligence about a possible Machian invasion. Currently satellites were trying to find out whether or not this was true. 1112 September 6th, 2019 CE They were looking at satellite images depicting a total of 52 ships. 32 ships were in a group and all made of metal while another 20 ships were in a group behind and seemed to be made of wood. Cralson was explaining. At around 1050, this morning, our satellites spotted two formations of ships in the middle of the ocean between our continent and the Impertoria continent. We believe its a mix of Bem and Machian warships. They seem to be sailing directly towards Miami. Everyone showed faces of concern. The President was asking questions. How long will it take them to get here. It is predicted that it will take them about 14 days. The Machian ships have greatly reduced their speeds to somewhat match with the Bems. What do we think their intention is? It doesnt seem peaceful. Seeing that they are a group of heavily armed warships. According to the Magusians, it is hostile. 1500 September 6th, 2019 CE 0730 (Mid Hour), Quiet 98th, 195 AE Miami, United States of America, Formidon Continent Diplomat Underwood, I believe it is in your countrys best interest in accepting the mutual defense treaty. I have said it many times. My country has absolutely no interest in that. The Machian will probably back down if they know they will immediately have to go to war with us if they attack you. Agree to the treaty and your country is saved. Our country is able to defend itself. Then I will have to leave. I believe it isnt safe for me to be here. However, I will leave behind some minimal personnel to maintain contact. Then I hope we can meet again. Ambassador Jacques got up and left with a solemn face 1323 September 20th, 2019 CE 0641 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Miami, United States of America, Formidon Continent A few days ago, the United States went into DEFCON 3. Most Magusians and all the Albeans have left. However, a group of 4 very low-rank Magusians have been left behind with some communication equipment. They were ordered to escape and destroy the equipment if the Americans failed to stop the Machians. A few miles away from Miami. Admiral Publius was looking out the bridge. Within an hour, they would arrive. While looking through his binoculars, he noticed something that was approaching at a very fast speed. He focused on it and waited for it to approach. It didnt seem like the man-eating bird. As it got closer he identified it as a weird aircraft. Instead of the propellers being in front of the aircraft, it was above. All the others in the bridge started to notice it. People started murmuring to each other. What is that? I dont know Admiral Publius took the initiative Put everyone on alert. Prepare for battle A few minutes later The weird aircraft was only a few miles away. A loud voice came out of it. <<< This is the United States Armed Forces. We request, on behalf of our government, that you advance no further. We will allow one of your ships to dock and explain. I repeat. This is the United States Armed Forces. We request, on behalf of our government, that you advance no further. We will allow one of your ships to dock and explain. >>> Admiral, what do we do? Let our ship advance. Communicate to the others to stay behind. Couldnt this be a trap? That weird aircraft could be using it as a chance to destroy our ship and escape before the others can catch up. We could just all advance forward and blow them apart. Do you doubt the power of a ship named after our Emperor? That aircraft will be blown out of the sky if they do anything. Our diplomat wanted to open up negotiations first before any action. The Desmond-class battleship started to move forward. 1410 September 20th, 2019 CE 0705 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Miami, United States of America, Formidon Continent There were news crews and civilians everywhere. The people were being kept back by police and military. This was receiving much more coverage and much earlier than the Albeans and Magusians because of the obvious military buildup in the surrounding area. When the Albeans and Magusians came, it was more unexpected and the government tried to keep it low. There was a bit of news coverage after people noticed. This time it was different. Diplomat Underwood was there to greet the Machians. The Desmond-class battleship had just docked. Two well-dressed men accompanied by 10 sailors carrying rifles got off. Diplomat Underwood greeted them. One of the well-dressed men spoke. Im Admiral Publius of the Machian Navy and this is Diplomat Felix. We would like for you to hear our proposal. Translator Hoffman was also there and explained it to Underwood. Diplomat Felix handed a paper to Underwood who gave it to Hoffman. Basically we want you to become our vassal state. Diplomat Underwood raised an eyebrow after Hoffman translated what was said. RonTheBlackCat Bem Ship of the Line Mach Heavy Cruiser Mach Light Cruiser Mach Destroye Chapter 8 – It Has Begun RonTheBlackCat Condition of your author: Halfway dead... lol XP I have been so busy that I nearly wasn''t able to get this out in time. I now have some time (I really want to relax and laze around in the sunshine) so I''m going to be doing a lot of stuff. Editing, answering all of your comments and figuring out the specifics of my next novel (The plot has already been conceived). Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK You can complain to the author, annoy the author, get teasers for new novels, and announcements for new chapters Orange now represents Latin/Common Language/Imperial Language "We''re not just going to shoot the bastards, we''re going to rip out their living goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks." - General George S. Patton Warrior Song https://youtu.be/lTs6a0ORdQU The footnotes give info about vehicles 1414 September 20th, 2019 CE 0707 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Miami, United States of America, Formidon Continent Hoffman, are you sure you translated that correctly? Im pretty sure that is what he said. Make him repeat it. Hoffman asked. Diplomat Felix started gloating. Ah. I might not have been clear. Our generous and almighty Mach Imperium have given you barbarians a chance to become a vassal state of our glorious country. It would be wise to accept. Hoffman translated and also explained the contents of the papers that were handed to him. This treaty is basically what he had just said. It also adds certain conditions. Something along the lines of complete obedience and high amounts of tribute. They want us to become a vassal state to their country. Diplomat Underwood looked towards Diplomat Felix with a calm face. Our country will not become a vassal state to your country. We have already refused the mutual defense treaty given to us by the Magusians. We would like to stay neutral to any conflicts that you two countries may have. The United States of America will not agree to any proposal that is against its interests. Diplomat Felix started to sound more and more threatening. Then that is really regretful. We have given you barbarians the great honor of being able to ally yourselves with us. Since you have refused, the Mach Imperium and Ben Kingdom hereby declare war on you. However, we are merciful people. You have 12 hours (24 hours in our time) to surrender. If we get no response within that time frame, our fleet will invade. We will burn this city down to the ground and kill every single one of your people. After the Machians departed, Diplomat Underwood stood there with an extremely and uncanny calm face. Contact Washington 1500 September 20th, 2019 CE 0730 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Many miles off the shores of Miami Admiral Publius was talking to Diplomat Felix when they returned to the rest of the fleet. Diplomat, are you sure about this. The aircraft they used earlier seemed to be advanced. Admiral, I know the situation of the world. No country other than the Magusians can put up resistance that can stop us. Sure their aircraft with the propeller on top may seem advanced, in reality, it is inferior to our aircraft. It doesnt have any weapons on it and it seems less maneuverable compared to our Maximil fighters. It is not fit for air to air combat or anything else in particular. These Americans might have created it because it was easy to make. The anti-air cannons on our ships can easily deal with it. As a military man, the Admiral has some doubts but didnt question the superiority of his Imperium. Unknown to them, they were already surrounded. 1500 September 20th, 2019 CE Somewhere Commander, they are well within the range of our torpedoes. We can blast every single one of them out of the water within mere minutes. The Commander was stern and focused on the radar screen. Washington hasnt given the go-ahead yet. Hidden underwater near the Bem and Machian fleet was Submarine Squadron 6 and Submarine Squadron 4. It consisted of a total of 6 Los-Angeles-class1 https://www.military.com/equipment/los-angeles-class-fast-attack-submarine https://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4100&tid=100&ct=4 and 7 Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines. Out of sight but close to the Bem and Machian fleet was also two carrier strike groups. This was a total of two Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carriers, two Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers, and four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers. There was also an additional 6 Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer present as an engagement force. The submarines have 4 torpedo tubes each and have a large number of torpedoes in stock. The Mark-45 5-inch (127 mm) guns and Mark 41 Vertical Launching Systems of the cruisers and destroyers were ready. F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets2 https://www.military.com/equipment/f-a-18e-f-super-hornet https://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/fa18/ https://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&tid=1200&ct=1 were also ready for liftoff from the USS George Washington (CVN 73) and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). F-35 Lightning IIs3 https://www.military.com/equipment/f-35a-lightning-ii https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/478441/f-35a-lightning-ii/ from multiple Air Force bases across Florida were preparing as extra support. The fighter jets were loaded with a variety of air to surface missiles and guided bomb units (GBU). 1420 September 20th, 2019 CE 0710 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Washington D.C., United States of America, Formidon Continent The President was on his phone in the Situation Room. <<< They want us to become their WHAT?! Sir, our diplomat refused it but then the >>> After a few more minutes of talking, the President got off the phone. Get us to DEFCON 2. Im going to need to inform the people about our current situation. Mr. President, news outlets have already had Latin translators translate what was said. The people know and they are outraged. 1445 September 20th, 2019 CE 0722 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE A random news station News stations across America were in a frenzy. In channels that report news, all other programming was pushed back for this breaking news. Here is an example from a news channel. <<< Good afternoon. Im Martin Sods. We are interrupting this broadcast to bring you breaking news of a possible declaration of war against the United States. At around 2:10, this afternoon, a ship representing the Mach Imperium and Bem kingdom arrived in Port Everglades. This was also the place where the Albeans and Magusians docked less than a month earlier and established a good relationship with the United States. A labeled political map appeared on the screen that labeled the countries. From our translators, we were able to learn that the people who represented the Mach Imperium and Bem Kingdom immediately demanded the United States of America to become a vassal state of the Mach Imperium. Of course, our diplomat immediately refused. Then the representative of the Mach Imperium and Bem Kingdom proceeded to declare war on the United States. The representative said that they were willing to wait for 24 hours for a response from the United States gover Im getting word that the President is making an announcement. This is live footage of the Presidents address on this situation. The screen switched to the president behind a podium. My fellow Americans, at around 2 pm Eastern Time today, our diplomats made contact with diplomats representing the Mach Imperium and Bem Kingdom. They gave us the offer of becoming their vassal state and when we refused, they threatened us with a war within 24 hours if we did not submit. As we speak, there is a Machian and Bem fleet positioned right outside of US territorial waters near Florida and are ready to advance. However, the US navy is positioned and ready to strike if they dare enter American waters. Although we want peace, we do not believe that peace is so sweet as to be purchased at the cost of our liberty. As of right now, we will try to resolve this peacefully and request that they advance no further. May God bless the United States of America. >>> 1500 September 20th, 2019 CE 0730 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Washington D.C., United States of America, Formidon Continent The President was in the Situation Room and was viewing live footage from a surveillance drone. An RQ-4 Global Hawk was flying far above the Machian and Bem fleet while recording and sending live footage to the Situation Room. Mr. President, all our forces are in place and ready to strike. Tell them that we will never agree to their demands and that they will be fired upon if they tried to proceed any further. 1520 September 20th, 2019 CE 0710 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Many miles off the shores of Miami Admiral, another plane seems to be incoming. I hope that they are wise and agree to our demands. It would be a real pity if they didnt. <<< Here is a message from the government and people of the United States of America. We will never agree to your terms. We request that you send a single ship for further negotiations. We will open fire if all of your ships advance. I repeat we will open fire if all ships advance. >>> The admiral was looking out the bridge. Diplomat, what do we do? Per the kings instructions, if they refuse we will attack. Commence the attack Admiral. Admiral Publius turned back to his sailors. Lets ignore that puny aircraft. We are heading straight for their city. Signal for all ships to advance. 1525 September 20th, 2019 CE 0733 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Washington D.C., United States of America, Formidon Continent On the screen, the ships started to advance. The Sikorsky Sh-60 Seahawk helicopter4 https://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1200&tid=500&ct=1 https://www.military.com/equipment/sh-60-sea-hawk was staying a distance away from the ships and was ready to pull back if they were fired upon. Strangely, even though the ships all started to advance, the ships ignored it. The President was confused as to why the helicopter wasnt fired upon but decided to warn the Machian and Bem again. He had also already been informed about what US naval units were positioned there. Tell the helicopter to warn them again. Also, get the engagement force and fire warning shots if they do not desist. 1530 September 20th, 2019 CE 0745 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Many miles off the shores of Miami <<< DO NOT ADVANCE ANY FURTHER. I REPEAT DO NOT ADVANCE ANY FURTHER. >>> The messages from the aircraft were ignored. The two Desmond-class battleships were going at its top speed of 23.6 miles per hour towards the city. Going at top speed will go through a lot of coal but they had already been replenished by colliers. A sailor on the Desmond-class battleship noticed something. Admiral! We have multiple ships sighted over the horizon to our left. Let them approach. When they get within 10 miles, our ship and the other Desmond-class battleship will open fire. The Admiral was calm since no known ship of that time could outrange the Desmond-class battleship. Being one of the most advanced ships of its time, it had a maximum firing range of about 10 miles. They could pummel any ship that dares try to get close. 1530 September 20th, 2019 CE 0745 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Many miles off the shores of Miami Commander, we have spotted the Machian and Bem fleet. The Commander of the Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer got on his radio with the other commanders. Once we get into range, we will each fire a warning shot and then disengage. The Arleigh-Burke-class destroyers were going at a top speed of 35 miles per hour and were quick long approaching its effective firing range of 15 miles. It could fire up to 20 miles but wasnt 100% accurate beyond 15 miles. Its also could fire 16-20 rounds per minute automatic. Of course after exhausting 16-20 rounds, it will take time to reload. 1545 September 20th, 2019 CE 0752 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Many miles off the shores of Miami Admiral! They opened fire! Opened fire? Whats does the rangefinder indicate? They are about 14 to 15 miles out sir! Those are probably warning shots. Those cant get anywhere near us. Right after saying that, 6 pillars of water rose up around the fleet. The admiral was flabbergasted. What?! Impossible! To have a range of more than 10 miles! Is that rangefinder accurate? It is sir. <<< Those were warning shots. TURN BACK NOW OR WE WILL BE FORCED TO FIRE WITH INTENTIONS TO SINK. I REPEAT TURN BACK NOW. >>> Both Desmond-class battleships had its guns pointed towards the 6 ships that had opened fire on them. However, they were way out of range and seemed to have no interest in getting closer. Admiral, what do we do? Press forward! They dont seem to fire accurately and seems to take time to reload! 1550 September 20th, 2019 CE 0755 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Hidden under the ocean near the Machian and Bem fleet Washington has given the go-ahead. They want us to sink the two battleships. Chapter 9 Part 1 – One Sided Naval Battle RonTheBlackCat Sorry for the late release. I have been soooo busy. Like seriously. IM TIRED. I have projects, club activities, Chinese New Year celebrations, and competitions. I decided to split this chapter in half and get the second half out next week because of how busy I am. Sorry about the late release and shorter chapter but I got no time... Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK 1555 September 20th, 2019 CE 0752 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Many miles off the shores of Miami Press forward! Show no fear! FOR THE GLORY OF THE IMPERIUM! The majestic and invincible steel beast of his Imperium was going full speed along with its fleet. Admiral Publiuss eyes filled with determination as it always does when he goes into battle mode. All of a sudden, the ship violently rocked to the left and everyone on the bridge was thrown off balance. There was a massive and brilliant explosion on the right of the ship. The admiral was thrown to the ground. He was only dealt with a couple of scrapes and stood up soon after. What in his Majestys name was that? As everyone started to recover and assess the situation, an officer shouted out. Admiral! Our ship was hit and is listing to the right! What hit us? It could be a torpedo. We are currently taking on large amounts of water. Can it be repaired? No, sir! The hole is too big! Just as that was said, there was a massive flash behind them. What was that?!?! Sir! The IS(Imperium Ship) Atticus, our other battleship, was hit! Whats its condition? We dont kn Use the telegraph. A telegraph was immediately sent to the IS Atticus. A reply came a few minutes later. Admiral, it reads Listing right. Taking on water. Unrepairable. Preparing to abandon. What kind of torpedo can do that?!? Where are they firing from?!?! We dont know, Admiral. We believe that its a submarine but the destroyers have not detected anything. TRY ANYTHING TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE! The Admiral was beginning to panic. Admiral, its impossible, water is gushing in so fast that our men cant seal it off. The Admiral started to sweat. A...ab abandon ship A minute ago Nearby under the sea After given the go-ahead, one torpedo came out from each of the 6 Los-Angeles-class nuclear attack submarines. Three of the torpedoes headed to one of the battleships while the other three headed to the other battleship. The Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine did not fire. The government wanted them to surrender for some political reason. 1600 September 20th, 2019 CE 0800 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Many miles off the shores of Miami Captain, our flagships IS Marcus and IS Atticus is sinking! We are receiving a telegraph message from the IS Atticus that they are abandoning ship. The Captain of the Heavy Cruiser Victorum, third in command of the fleet, was taken by surprise. The other officers in the bridge were terrified. In mere minutes of the order to attack, both of their flagships were sinking. Their flagships, the Desmond-class battleship, should be able to take any heavy fire from any navy and still stay operational. There were no munitions capable of sinking it in a mere few shots. Even the Magusian navy, the only navy capable of somewhat standing up to the Mach, could not face any Desmond-class battleship with any hope of winning unless they outnumbered it 20 to 1. Now, right in front of their eyes, these invincible beasts were sinking. Captain, what do we do? Should we turn back? We cant press forward. The captain had a solemn face. Telegraph to the other Mach ships to retreat. Should we signal to the Bem to do that too? We got no time. Retreat as fast as possible. The Bem will stay behind to cover our retreat. The Captain of the Heavy Cruiser Victorium knew that it was less of a cover and more of a sacrifice. Captain, we must go save the survivors. We will meet the same fate as our flagships if we do. Ignore the survivors. But Captain! The Captain gave a stern look and the opposing officer backed down. The group of heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers were turning around in a scattered position. Far behind them, the Bem fleet which had seen the destruction of the Machians battleships noticed it. Admiral, they are turning around! Have they signaled to us their intentions? Negative sir. They are abandoning us, arent they. Those bastards." The 6 Arleigh-Burke-class destroyers that were staying 15 miles out also noticed. We have just received orders to intercept and prevent their escape. Focus fire on the Machian ships. Aye, aye, sir! The gun on each of the destroyers immediately turned and fired on the ships that were in the front of the Machian formation. At that moment on the IS Victorum Captain! The enemies have opened fire! Try to evade! The IS Victorum was hit. So were 5 other Machian ships. Two destroyers were immediately obliterated upon impact. A light cruisers bridge was destroyed. Another heavy cruiser and the IS Victorum sustained heavy damage. The ears of the Captain of the IS Victorum were ringing from the explosion. Whats the situation! Captain! The enemy shell hit the center of the ship. Two of our side main guns have been destroyed! All of a sudden, a zooming sound could be heard coming from above and passing over. The Captain looked out to the left of the ship. He could see two arrowheads at incredible speeds going outwards. ...What is that? Multiple Machians noticed the arrowheads flying over by and were alarmed by it. Its speed was something that seemed to be impossible. At that moment on the IS Marcus Admiral Publiuss was grimly looking out of the bridge. The rest of the crew and the diplomat had abandoned ship. Based on Machian naval tradition, an Admiral can not abandon ship. If they did, they will have their title stripped and face mockery while in jail waiting to be executed. Admiral Publius firmly believed in death before dishonor. What is this what in his Majestys name is this The Admiral said these words in despair after witnessing the destruction of multiple Mach ships and the arrowheads flying by. Chapter 9 Part 2 – One Sided Naval Battle RonTheBlackCat Heres the second part! Next week, it will be back to normal. I have worked out a writing schedule that will hopefully work. With this schedule, I might be able to open up a Patreon where you can read ahead. You can complain to the author, annoy the author, get teasers for new novels, and announcements for new chapters in... Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK "A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace"- President Theodore Roosevelt Warrior Song Levithan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXeLfMO9q4c 1616 September 20th, 2019 CE 0808 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE Many miles off the shores of Miami We have to get out of here! Increase speed! Evasive maneuvers! Put out the fire! They are firing again! Impossible! How are they reloading that fast?! Brace for impact! A variety of shouts could be heard from the Machian sailors on different ships. A pair of F/A-18 E/F had just conducted a flyby of the ships as a psychological attack to sow fear in the enemy. The Arleigh-Burke-class destroyers fired again within seconds of firing the first rounds. Explosions rocked the Machian fleet. This time three destroyers, the heavily damaged heavy cruiser which had lost its frontal main gun, another heavy cruiser, and the bridge-damaged light cruiser were hit. Two of the three destroyers suffered the same fate as the first two destroyers. The hits had nearly evaporated them. The third destroyer was hit in the middle and broke in two. It sunk like a closing claw. The damaged heavy cruiser caught fire and the undamaged one exploded because of a hit to the ammunition. Through all of this carnage, the damaged light cruiser that was hit again miraculously stayed afloat. However, the deck was a burning wreck. On the IS Victorum Captain, we cant let this go on. We have no ability to fight back. Even if we try to escape, we would all be sunk. The Captain of the IS Victorum was looking out at the condition of his fleet. Multiple ships were sinking. Some ships were in literal flames. Smoke was rising up around the fleet. There was extensive damage to many ships. They are opening fire again! Many miles away, the guns on the ships of the enemy fleet all flashed. Do they not need to reload?! Once again, six ships were hit. The accuracy of the enemy scared the Machians. What kind of gunner was able to perfectly hit their target three times in a row at this distance. It was possible that this was the act of the Magusians using their evil magic. The only thing was, there was no possible magic that can do that. Magic can only conjure things out of thin air and propel it with an invisible force. It cant improve the accuracy of anything. Unknown to them, this was because of the Aegis Weapon System (AWS) that is on every single one of the enemy ships. The AWS uses powerful computer and radar technology to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets with near-perfect accuracy. The IS Victorums back gun was disabled. Four other heavy cruisers suffered extensive damage. A destroyer was hit and was rolling onto its side. The Captain of the IS Victorum felt completely hopeless. It was impossible to fight back because the enemy was faster, more accurate, and more destructive than them. The only chance they had was with a complete retreat but even when they were retreating, they were being destroyed as if they were training dummies. Stop all vessels! Quickly! Raise the flag of surrender! On the lead Arleigh Burke Ceasefire! Ceasefire! A commander was barking into his radio. The Machian ships had raised white flags and started to slow. The Bem ship of the lines followed suit. The commander was relieved because he was afraid that the tradition for surrender was different in this world. Turns out there was something about the white flag that made it suited for being a symbol of surrender. Although the Bem had not been fired upon, they were too slow to escape. ------------------------------------------------------- Naval Battle of Florida Machian casualties Sunk/Dead 2 Desmond-class battleships 1 heavy cruiser 6 destroyers About 5,000 men Captured 7 heavy cruisers (6 heavily damaged) 2 light cruisers (1 extremely damaged) 14 destroyers About 7,000 men Bem casualties Captured 20 Bem ship of the line 16,000 men American Casualties 0 ------------------------------------------------------- 0000 September 21th, 2019 CE 0300 (Early Hour), Quiet 113th, 195 AE Primopolis, Septentrio Magus Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent Your Majesty! Yes, Im right next to you, Robertus, you dont have to scream. Uh, yes, your majesty. Sorry about that. Its fine, its fine. What is it? Is it about how our secret military buildup on the front is going? About that your majesty, we have received a telegram from Diplomat Jacques. Turns out we dont need to prepare a preemptive invasion of the Mach. What do you mean? Turns out the Machian werent able to defeat the Americans. According to the telegram, Diplomat Jacques returned to Formido after receiving, from the people he had left behind to spy on the occupying Machian forces, that the American navy was able to one-sidedly defeat the Machian fleet. Emperor Arstant was surprised. Give me that telegram. The Emperor was handed it and read through it This is Diplomat Jacques. I have just returned to the continent of Formido. The American navy was able to one-sidedly defeat the Machian fleet of two Desmond-class battleships, eight heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and twenty destroyers. The Americans gave us video footage of the battle. A Machian fleet of this size would be able to easily threaten our coast. I hate to admit this but this United States of America is more advanced than any country in this world. Maybe the elves are on par with them if the elves exist. When I first set foot in this country, I immediately noted that it was on par with ours. They had cars, skyscrapers, and their rich wore comfortable clothing. However, as I stayed longer in it, I noticed that they may have been more advanced than us. Their cars felt smoother and more enjoyable to ride in. Their skyscrapers seem to tower above ours. Their buildings are able to effectively keep warmth in when it is cold outside without the use of any heating equipment. Everyone in their country seems to be able to wear good clothing. They even have the ability to produce colored video footage. My list can go on and on. By then I believed that they may have been a bit better than us. I believed that we may have been only a step behind. Now, I believe that they may be hundreds of years ahead of us. I have been trying my best to pretend that I wasnt surprised by any of their better technology in order for us to gain negotiations that favored us. Now I realized my mistake. The moment we arrived was the moment that they knew we were less advanced. In my opinion, we cant dare to anger them. They will be a more fearsome enemy than the Mach. Chapter 10 – Calm Before the Storm RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK "We are going to murder those lousy bastards by the bushel" - General George S. Patton Pass Me the Ammo by the Moonshine Bandits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2zjg78ay4I 0020 September 21th, 2019 CE 0310 (Early Hour), Quiet 113th, 195 AE Primopolis, Septentrio Magus Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent Emperor Colerius Arstant was stroking his white beard. Im not sure whether to be happy or apprehensive. Robertus looked at the telegram on the table thoughtfully. I agree. Im happy that the Mach wasnt able to gain the resources that the Formidon continent had but Im now worried about the United States of America. They could potentially be a threat. They did just wipe out a Mach fleet able to conquer a country in the League of Soan within days. Its a good thing we agreed to a non-aggression pact. But your majesty, will they uphold it? Emperor Arstant looked at the ceiling of his office room. ... I believe so. From what Diplomat Jacques has said, they havent acted aggressively at all towards us. They only attacked the Mach to defend themselves this might actually work in our favor. 1200 September 21th, 2019 CE 0900 (End Hour), Quiet 113th, 195 AE Primopolis, Septentrio Magus Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent Emperor Arstant was back in his office room. Most would think that being the emperor was very easy. All you had to do was sit in your throne room, look all high and mighty, and command your subordinates. That was completely false. Although he did get to sit in his throne room for official ceremonies, granting audiences, or conducting large meetings. Small meetings, decisions, and paperwork in his office room filled up a large part of the day. The most annoying part of being Emperor was the paperwork. He had to look through various reports, complaints, and random things that ranged from taxes to military information. It was tiring work. Of course, there were good sides to being Emperor. Good food, great entertainment, and time to relax. He did just have a nice steak dinner. Your Majesty! It was Robertus again. Your Majesty! We have another magram from Diplomat Jacques! It seemed like all the recent news from him was about the United States of America. Give it to me Emperor Arstant, as usual, skipped the formalities that were usually included on magrams sent to the emperor and looked through the content. This is Diplomat Jacques. The United States of America has established contact with the Machians using the telegrams on the Machian ships. Interestingly, the Machians seem to have developed a type of telegram that doesnt require wires. The United States wants to pursue a peaceful resolution with the Machians after the Machians unreasonable declaration of war. They are also willing to release and send back the about 7,000 Machian prisoners of war that they have captured. Your Majesty if we can get the United States of America to fight the Machians, then wont we benefit from it? Of course it will. Then can we somehow sabotage the communications to make it look like the Machians are being hostile? I dont think theres a need for that. What do you mean? Robertus its the Machians we are talking about. About an hour earlier Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America, Formidon Continent Can you send a telegram to your country? The Machian Diplomat, Diplomat Felix, was sitting in the communication room of a Machian destroyer. He was a survivor of the IS Marcus and was picked up by the US Navy after the battle. The Machian destroyer was docked at the Mayport base along with other captured Machian ships. Diplomat Underwood, Translator Hoffman and a bunch of American officials and soldiers were around him. We need you to tell your Emperor the news of your defeat and our willingness to negotiate. Sure, anything specific? Diplomat Felix was extremely bitter but didnt complain. He saw firsthand the power of these Americans. 1200 September 21th, 2019 CE 1000 (Down Hour), Quiet 113th, 195 AE Primopolis, Septentrio Magus Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent Industropolis, Mach Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent Message for Emperor Industrus Your Imperial Highness, I, Diplomat Felix, your humble servant, has a message of utmost importance to you. Yesterday, our invasion fleet was defeated. The Americans had sunk two battleships, one heavy cruiser, and six destroyers. They have captured the entire Bem and remaining Machian fleet and have 7,000 of your subjects as prisoners including me. The Americans suffered neither casualties nor damage. The Americans have allowed me to use the telegram installed in the communication room of a Machian destroyer to report this to you and extend their offer of negotiations. The Americans are willing to see this as a misunderstanding and they wish to stop the current state of war, which I had declared, between our nation and theirs. They are also willing to further discuss this if you deem it necessary. They promise to keep the Machian prisoners of war in good condition and release them after the state of war ceases. Your Imperial Highness, I have seen the might of the United States of America and implore that you agree to their request for peace. ~May your reign never end~ An extremely unpleasant and enraging look was on Emperor Desmond Industross face. SUMMON MY ADVISORS NOW! A scared-looking servant next to the emperor responded. Y...Yes, Sir! A few minutes later in the throne room Can anyone explain HOW THIS HAPPENED! In his throne room, Emperor Industrus was still enraged. One of the advisors spoke up. Sir, the Magusians might have helped the Americans. Two Desmond-class battleships were sunk. TWO! The Magusians dont have the weapons to sink them without risking massive damage to themselves. You are telling me that the Magusians had a large fleet there and were willing to risk that fleet to protect an unknown country?! Your highness. What? It was because of incompetence. The Emperor looked towards the military advisor/head general Flavius Tullas Hm? The incompetence of the sailors and their officers doomed the fleet! There can be no other sensible reason! Think about it, your highness. Because their guards were down, they were easily attacked and defeated. The emperors eyes narrowed. Then what about these words written by Diplomat Felix? He says that the Americans are terrifying. LIES! YOUR MAJESTY! LIES! He has been forced by these barbarians to send this to you! They are threatening us and trying to use this lucky victory to gain from us! They say that they have suffered no damage but that''s made up! They even dare say they are treating the prisoners well in order to make us bow down to them for the prisoner''s safety! These words are a veiled threat! Silence perpetrated the air. Emperor Industros was thinking about those words and came to heed his trusted Military Advisor Flaviuss words. How DARE they try to make fools out of our empire with their promise of negotiation! Prepare a massive fleet! We will wipe them out! Tell these barbarians that they have a day to surrender or we will eradicate every last one of them! 1240 September 21th, 2019 CE 0620 (Mid Hour), Quiet 113th, 195 AE Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America, Formidon Continent A reply came through. You have within a day to send us your unconditional surrender. This is your last chance! A massive fleet bigger than the first one will be sent and you will suffer the consequences. Choose wisely. The first option is that you surrender and become our vassal state with minor consequences for your actions. Or. You dont and face the wrath of our Imperial Military. We will kill your soldiers, lay waste to your puny towns, massacre every single one of your people. None shall be spared. 1250 September 21th, 2019 CE 0625 (Mid Hour), Quiet 113th, 195 AE Washington DC, United States of America, Formidon Continent President Ronell Haye had a somewhat unimpressed somewhat straight face. Most of the people in the Situation Room knew what kind of face it was. The President only showed that face when he was extremely infuriated. And extremely was an understatement. No one. No one! Threatens the American people! The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Marks, was in the Situation Room because of the current situation Mr. President, we need immediate military action. The President slowly nodded. 1400 September 21th, 2019 CE 0700 (Mid Hour), Quiet 113th, 195 AE Washington DC, United States of America, Formidon Continent Army General Abrams Thompson, Former Commander of the US Central Command, was currently in Washington DC. He became a Former Commander after the United States was transported to this world because there was no Middle East anymore. However, he was still in charge of the assets and bases that were from the Middle East. Those were located in the Northern Frontier. Currently, since the time it took to get home was considerably shorter, he had already saved up to 42 days of leave, and the situation in the Northern Frontier had stabilized, he decided to take a short vacation. Originally, he would have never gone on vacation at this time because he was in the Forward Headquarters in the Middle East, not in the main headquarters at the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. He was watching television with his wife when the phone rang. I will get that. He stood from his couch and walked over to the table with the landline telephone. This is the Thompson household. <<>> Yes? <<>> General Thompson felt a bit sad. Understood. He hung up and went over to his wife. He leaned over the couch and gave his wife a kiss to the forehead. He sighed. I need to report to the Pentagon. Somethings happening. Its probably related to yesterday. Honey, you havent even been home for a day. You promised the kids that you will spend some time with them after they got back home Thompson sighed again. Duty calls. A few minutes later. After getting dressed, he was at the front door adjusting his cap and preparing to leave. His wife stood there leaning on a doorways side. Come back soon honey. I will, as soon as possible. Tell the kids that I will take them to an amusement park or something when Im back. 30 minutes later. Pentagon, United States of America, Formidon Continent General Thompson saluted at the doorway leading into an office in the Pentagon. Mr. President, General Marks. What may I do for you two? General Thompson was a bit surprised that the President was at the Pentagon. The Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, General Marks, looked up. Ah, General Thompson, come in, take a seat. I was just discussing with the President about our current ops plan. Thompson came in and took a seat opposite of the President and General Marks. The President was still looking through various papers that were displayed on the table between the seats so General Marks started. General Thompson, you may be wondering why you were called in on a day that you were taking a vacation. Um, yeah. Well, Im pretty sure you have heard of what happened yesterday right? The naval battle off of Florida? You know the details correct? Im pretty sure I know as far as the news know. The declaration of war by these countries called the Bem and Mach, the one-sided naval battle that occurred where we crushed them, and the prisoners of war and captured ships we obtained. General Marks nodded. About three hours ago, we were able to send a telegram message to the Machians using a telegram in a Machian destroyer and with the help of captured Machian diplomat. Heres the translated paper copy of that message. The last sentence was added by the diplomat. General Thompson looked over it. And? Well, in about forty minutes, a reply from the Machians came. Heres the translated copy. Oh Then the President who had been just looking at documents, spoke up. Well, Former Commander of the US Central Command, you have been appointed the Commander of the new US New World Command. Congratulations! I hope you do well with the war on Bem and Mach. Huh? Chapter 11 – Preparations RonTheBlackCat Today was a busy day... "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." - Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto after Pearl Harbor I don''t really like how Chapter 11 turned out but... I will go with it... I''m throwing this into ''definitely rewriting in the future'' Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Anchors Aweigh- US Navy Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-3ws7b4sZg 1440 September 21th, 2019 CE 0720 (Mid Hour), Quiet 113th, 195 AE Pentagon, United States of America, Formidon Continent What? You are now the commander of the US New World Command. ... Well you see General Thompson, we dont have military bases around the world anymore, so we cant have region-specific combatant commands as we did in the old world. Basically, this command is for our military operations that are not in the United States or the Northern Frontier, which is U.S. territory now. Um Im honored to be appointed to this position, Mr.President, but may I ask a question? Go ahead. Why me? I mean we have other great generals that have lost their positions because of the sudden transfer to this world. I believe there are four other great commanders that can fill that position. This time, General Marks responded. We believe that you are the most suitable. The Middle East has been in a state of constant war for years. You have the most experience with operations dealing with fighting the enemy. Not training and practice like the European Command or the Indo-Pacific Command and not minor operations like the Southern Command or the African Command. But actual major operations and combat. General Thompson thought about it for a bit. Then I understand General, Mr. President, and I will carry out my duties. Now, the President and I have been looking at and discussing plans to carry out an attack on Bem. We want to completely knock out the Bem first. General Marks shuffled through documents before continuing. The good news is that we have a lot of intelligence on the enemy we are facing. The Magusians were happy to give us information about their enemies. Beginning with the Bem. The Bems technology is less advanced than the Machians and is on par with an average advanced country during the 1700s. Their population is very small at around 10 million people. On the sea, their navy consists of around 300 ships of the line... actually, that should be about 280 now. They vary from being equipped with 50 guns to 100 guns. Their calibers mainly consist of 18-pounders, 24-pounders, and 36 pounders. On land, their army is about 300,000 strong and uses muskets, horse cavalry, and a varying caliber range of cannons. We will be facing wooden forts and linear tactics. In the air, they have virtually no air force. To General Thompson, the prospect of fighting a war against an 18th-century country seemed unneeded. Do we actually need to fight a war against them? Isnt it a bit unnecessary seeing that they arent a major threat to us? They are less armed than even the minor terrorist groups that I had experienced in the Middle East. Actually, we are hoping to just subdue them. Missile strikes, drone strikes, and airstrikes on their military and political facilities should get the job done. If we are able to take out the king and his heirs, then their country would be completely leaderless. The only reason that we are occupying them is to reform their government and gain the ability to build military bases on their land. That will help us greatly in our offensive on the Mach. Then what if we dont take out the king with the strikes? Or all of his heirs? Attacks from the air wont always get their target. I have experienced this many times. If we dont, lets hope that their king or heir is wise enough to understand the position he is in. We can literally rain down fire from the skies whenever and wherever we want. If not, then we would have to conduct an actual full-scale invasion. Then we will have to prepare for an occupation nonetheless. Do we have any information on the Mach? General Marks pulled out some photos that were copies of what the Magusians had shown to Diplomat Underwood. The Mach is a bit more complicated. They have technology similar to an early 20th-century European country. They have a population of about 70 million with an army of around 1.5 million strong. Their navy is made up of about 200 ships made up of dreadnoughts, cruisers, and destroyers. Their Air Force is made up of around three thousand biplanes and bombers. Their army uses rifles, artillery, and tanks. According to the Magusians, most of the Machian army are based near the border of the Magusians. About 25% of the 1.5 million-strong army is scattered in bases around the country and not near the border. Another important thing is that according to the Magusians, the Machians have a complicated hierarchy that allows them to function even if their emperor and his heirs are dead. Shouldnt we do a two-pronged attack? Strike both the Machians and Bem at the same time so they have no time to react? We will be doing something like that. However, the strikes on the Machians will be limited. Our aircraft carriers dont have enough firepower to completely destroy the Machians. We will need more airpower to conduct an intensive attack on the Mach. In the old world, we are able to launch a full-scale air campaign in two countries. But this world is different, we dont have air bases around the world that allow us to do consistent airstrikes. We need to construct quick airfields in Bem which can provide us with extra ground support and air superiority. How about our bombers? Cant they be used to neutralize the Mach? We do have a total of 152 bombers but the logistics required for us to get some of those bombers to the Mach Imperium and back is complicated if not near impossible. The Mach Imperium is more than 6,000 miles away. Even with the B-52H that has a range of 8,800 miles, the highest range out of all our bombers, returning would be impossible since our tankers only have at most a range of 1,500 miles. It could only work if we had the MQ-25 Stingray in operation since they can be launched off carriers. The Stingrays first flight was planned to be two days ago but it got pushed to a later date because of our transfer to this world. Although even if we had the MQ-25 Stingray able to fly, it is still under development. I see. Is it possible to ask the Magusians for assistance since they are the Machians sworn enemy? They dont seem to appreciate foreign troops in their land. I see, as usual with any country. 1250 September 22nd, 2019 CE 0625 (Mid Hour), Quiet 114th, 195 AE Tampa, Florida, United States of America, Formidon Continent General Abrams Thompson arrived at the MacDill Air Force Base, the old headquarters of the US Central Command, which is now the headquarters of the US New World Command. Right now, General Thompson was preparing for a naval battle. The Machians had threatened to send another invasion fleet if the United States did not surrender within 24 hours. That 24 hour was up. Originally there were plans to launch an attack before the Machians could assemble their fleet but it was scratched. It was not that the United States was unable to do it. The United States could. There were three Marine Expeditionary Units in North Carolina that could mobilize in less than a day and the US Navy was always mobilized. It was that it didnt make much sense to rush things. The Machian navy was at most a light threat. The only reason that it was even a light threat was that there was a tiny chance that if the entire Machian Navy of around 200 ships were sent to attack the US, some of their ships could get through and attack a city. In reality, they cant be considered a threat at all since it was highly unlikely that the Machian will use their entire navy to attack the United States. The Machian depended on those ships for defense, So there was no need for a rapid response. The US Marines should be ready within a few days or a week most. The US Army is also mobilizing but that would take around a month. Currently, the plan was to wait for the second Machian fleet to attack, repel that attack, and then go on the offensive. General Thompson was quite sure that the Machian fleet would try to attack near Florida again since the Machians dont know the actual size of the United States. Random bar in Industropolis, Mach Imperium Two somewhat drunk and somewhat sober men were sitting at a table and talking about random subjects. Hey interesting thing today, I heard from one of my friends, ya know, Tiberius. You know him right? Uhhh nothing comes to mind. That navy person whos my friend. Huhyeah... you have talked about him before right? The one holds some position in the navy? Yeah, that person! Okay so remember how everyone was talking about a new country in Formidon. I do vaguely what was it called again? Eeeehhh, not sure. But you do know right? Didnt we send something there? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thats what I wanted to talk about! So? Have you heard of the rumors that are spreading? What rumors? The ones ones the about the fleet getting wiped out. What fleet? Thats what we sent to the country in Formidon! I think we sent a couple of Desmond-class ones there too. Ha that country must be doomed. The man started wagging his finger No no no. The rumors! What rumors. You have been saying rumor this rumor that. The fleet got wiped. I said it earlier. Thats impossible. There were Desmond-class ships. Yeah thats what I thought too and I asked Tiberius about it. What did he say? Its all true! We lost that entire fleet! To what? The Magusians? No. That new country! Do I look dumb to you. Theres no way we lose to a new country! You dont believe me? Didnt you notice about words of a naval buildup at one of the port cities? We are trying again with a bigger fleet. Whatever theres no chance a new country will defeat us. They are just baseless rumors. 0900 September 25th, 2019 CE 0430(Early Hour), Quiet 117th, 195 AE Tampa, Florida, United States of America, Formidon Continent General Abrams Thompson was looking at satellite imagery of a Machian port which showed a buildup of Machian warships. It was a great satellite image with no cloud cover. Two dreadnoughts, two battleships, a battlecruiser, and 15 light cruisers or destroyers. Seems like the Machians didnt lie about a bigger fleet. Probably a few more days before they are at full strength. Well, more target practice for the Navy. General Thompson was preparing an invasion/occupation force for the Bem. The Marines had already begun organizing at various ports on the East Coast. The logistics needed to pull this off will take some time. A bit less than two weeks before the planned amphibious assault. 1000 September 25th, 2019 CE 0800(Mid Hour), Quiet 117th, 195 AE Primopolis, Septentrio Magus Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent Emperor Arstant was in his throne room among various advisors. Robertus was beside him. Your majesty, they may have powerful weapons but do they have enough of them? War isnt just about how good your weapons are, they are also about how much of them you have. The Imperial Military Advisor, Caius Igennus, was arguing with the Emperor about what they should do because of the war between the Americans and Machians. From the observations of our diplomatic team, their weapons may be advanced enough that quantity doesnt matter. But is there any exact figures? It is possible that they only have a few of these weapons to protect themselves. Sadly, it seems that the Americans are unwilling to give out any military information to us. All we know is that they easily won against a Machian fleet without taking any casualties by using weapons beyond our capabilities. Then we should not take any action. We will endanger ourselves if we do. Caius did not trust that a new nation could have the capability to easily defeat the Mach. He also didnt believe the new nations claim that it was transported here from another world. That just did not adhere to the law of physics and magic. Chapter 12 – Beginning of the End of the Mach Imperium RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK "Who has the largest air force in the world? The US Air Force (Also the strongest) The second? The US Navy The fourth? The US Army The fifth? The US Marine Corps" - Fact Its time for some hell march isn''t it? https://youtu.be/_7KPhl3ohAQ - US Navy Hell March 0200 September 30th, 2019 CE 0400(Early Hour), Quiet 122th, 195 AE Port Bannock, Mach Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent On a clear and sunny early morning, a task force consisting of four Desmond-class battleships, five old battleships, a battlecruiser, ten heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, twenty destroyers and five troopships carrying 1,500 men each, a total of 7,500 infantry, left port. If this fleet was lost, that would be a big blow to the Machian Navy. They had already sped up ship production in order to replace the losses from Force A. A few sailors were a bit apprehensive, most of them were very confident. Rumor had spread like wildfire about the complete defeat of Force A, the naval squadron sent to occupy the new nation on Formido. Most people ignored it as baseless rumors or Magusians propaganda. Most of the sailors on Force B, what this task force was called, believed that they were just reinforcements because of the large amounts of natives that needed to be subjugated. They believed that Force A was able to occupy a small part of the natives country but the natives were counter-attacking with a huge quantity of ships and soldiers. They were heavily mistaken. Also, unbeknownst to them, they were being carefully observed and watched from a place beyond their wildest imaginations. A satellite in space took pictures of the port as the ships left. Admiral Spurius Nero was on the flagship, a Desmond-class battleship called the IS Julianus. The admiral was secretly conversing with his other officers. We shall not repeat the mistakes of Force A. The honor of the navy rests on our success. Dont worry admiral, this is one of the biggest fleets dispatched ever since our last war with the Magusians. 1000 September 30th, 2019 CE 0500 (Early Hour), Quiet 122th, 195 A Tampa, Florida, United States of America, Formidon Continent Various satellite images of the Machian fleet were taken showing it departing the port. By estimating the speed through comparing satellite images taken at different times and looking at the direction of the ships, General Abram Thompsons staff was able to estimate the time it would take for it to reach the United States. A staff member was telling the general about this. It will take them around about nine days to arrive off the shore of Florida. Nine days? It took them more than two weeks for the first time. There are no Bem ships accompanying them so they dont have to slow down. Five carrier strike groups are being deployed to meet the second invasion fleet. This consisted of five Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, twenty-five Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, five Ticonderoga cruisers, five Los Angeles-class attack submarines. They were also accompanied by Submarine Squadron Six which consisted of six Los Angeles-class attack submarines and three Virginia-class attack submarines. This fleet is able to launch thousands of missiles and more than two hundred F-18 E/F Super Hornets. Only five aircraft carriers were deployed because most of the other aircraft carriers were under maintenance and wont be able to be deployed until 2020 and 2021. In Norfolk, Virginia, an Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) was being prepared to strike the Bem and Mach. Amphibious assault ships (LHDs), amphibious transport docks (LPDs) and dock landing ships (LSDs) were being gathered. The Marine Corps was divided into four Marine Expeditionary Forces. An entire Marine Expeditionary Force was being prepared for the assault. The II Marine Expeditionary Force consisted of the 2nd Marine Division, the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, and the 2nd Marine Logistic Group. A Marine Expeditionary Force is able to sustain itself in combat without external assistance for a period of 60 days. October 3nd, 2019 CE End 3rd, 195 AE Somewhere in the ocean between the Machian Imperium and Formidon at night It has been three days since Force B had set sail for the Formidon continent. Admiral Spurius Nero was planning ship formations for the invasion. The current plan was to first send forth the battleships and battlecruiser to clear out any ships that stand in the way. Then the troopships which will be guarded by the destroyers, light cruisers, and heavy cruisers will be behind the bigger ships. This way no surprise attack can occur. Unknown to them, this battle plan would be completely useless. Tomorrow will be the day that the power of the Machian Navy was squashed like an ant under a boot. The fate of the Machian Imperium was sealed the day their first fleet tried to attack the United States. October 5th, 2019 CE End 5th, 195 AE Somewhere in the ocean between the Machian Imperium and Formidon in the early morning The US fleet had earlier launched an E-2D Hawkeye, an airborne early warning aircraft that was able to detect targets at ranges of excess 345 miles. The E-2D Hawkeye has now detected 47 signatures. The Machian fleet. The Machian have no idea what was about to hit them. A squadron of F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets (12 of them) with a cruise speed of 777 miles per hour lifted off from the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). Each of them carrying four Harpoon missiles (Harpoon Block II RGM-84). A Harpoon missile has a range of around 80 miles and has a 500-pound warhead. Behind them, an EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft lifted off. Equipped with an AN/ALQ-122 Communications Countermeasure Set and various other electronic warfare equipment, it could easily jam even the most advanced communication systems of the old world. At the same time About 345 miles away from the US fleet There wasnt much to do on a week-long journey to the other side of the world. Some sailors were working. They were mopping the deck, cooking, doing maintenance and various other things. Some sailors were playing. They had conversations and played card games and board games. No one expected anything to happen. What could happen? There was absolutely no navy in this world that can stand up to the mighty Machian navy. The Machians had the biggest ships with the biggest guns. Those that tried to attack them were fools. As the saying goes, Machia rules the waves. About 25 minutes later Around 70 miles away from the Machian Fleet "Firing all Bruisers." In procession on each of the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, four Harpoon missiles were launched. One of the Super Hornets shot three Harpoon missiles instead of four. A total of 47 missiles were headed for the Machian fleet. They streamed off from the wings of the Super Hornets and each headed for a different ship. The Harpoon missiles, with a speed of around 540 miles per hour, will reach their targets in just about 8 minutes. Around 7 minutes later Flavius, a sailor on the IS Julianus who was noted for his very good eyes, noticed a small flying object skimming the sea. It was approaching the IS Viginti Duo (Twenty Two in Latin. The names of Machian destroyers are numbers), a destroyer that was further ahead of them to the right, at incredible speeds. Hey, Mettius, do you see that What? Flavius, cant you see Im busy here? Mettiuss back was turned and he was focused on mopping the deck Before Flavius could say a retort, an explosion rocked the IS Viginti Duo. Flavius was shocked. Mettius turned around in surprise. What the hell was that?! On the bridge of the IS Julianus Everyone on the bridge of the IS Julianus was surprised. Right in front of their eyes, a destroyer had vaporized in an explosion. Wha Even before Admiral Spurius Nero could question what had happened, more brilliant explosions reduced many more ships in front of them to nothing more than metal floating on the sea. Destroyers and light cruisers that were ahead of the fleet were instantly vaporized as if hit with hundreds of pounds of explosives that were traveling at high speeds. Sir! The IS Viginti Duo, Quadraginta Quattuor, Trigingta Before the officer could even begin listing out the sunken, an explosion rocked the front of the IS Julianus. Admiral Nero clutched a side of the wall to prevent him from falling from the explosion. Is everyone okay?! Only minor injuries on the bridge, admiral. Damage report! Sir, the front of our ship is taking on a lot of water very quickly. The explosion opened a hole in the keel of our ship. Are those repairable? The repair crew is trying sir! What in the Emperors name attacked us! I dont see any enemy ships unless they are enemy submarines Get the destroyers to start dropping depth charges! We have enemy submarines near us! Ummm sir, we have no destroyers left. How many of our ships are left undamaged? It seems like some of our ships are More explosions rocked the fleet. ...none of our ships are undamaged. Once hit, the light cruisers, troopships, and destroyers were instantly turned into pieces of metal floating on the sea. Heavy cruisers and the old battleships faired a bit better. They usually had an entire area of the ship gone where the explosion happened. The battlecruiser and the Desmond-classes had gaping holes where the explosion occurred. Because Harpoon missiles are sea-skimming missiles, ships that were hit and not vaporized started to take on a lot of water. The repair crew is now saying that the damage is unrepairable! We have to abandon the ship! Get to the lifeboats! We need to telegram headquarters first! Tell the telegram operator to warn the Emperor of the situation. An unknown force has destroyed Force B and may threaten the Imperium. Unknown to the Admiral, that telegram message will never reach the Imperium. An EA-18G somewhere far off was jamming the telegram. In less than 45 minutes, the US fleet was able to disable the entire Machian fleet of 47 ships. Force B ceased to exist. At this time, the Machian High Command had no idea what just occurred ------------------------------------------------------- Battle of the New World Atlantic/Imperium Eastern Sea Machian casualties Sunk/Dead 4 Desmond-class battleships 5 old battleships 1 battlecruiser 10 heavy cruisers 3 light cruisers 20 destroyers 5 troopships About 16,500 dead (3,500 from not being able to get on a lifeboat) Survivors 12,000 men American Casualties 0 ------------------------------------------------------- 0100 October 6th, 2019 CE 0430 (Early Hour) End 6th, 195 AE Industropolis, Mach Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent Emperor Industrus was grumbling a lot. His sleep was disturbed by his wife, the empress, and he wasnt happy. Well granted, he overslept by an hour. A servant knocked and entered the office of Emperor Industrus. Your majesty, we have a minor problem. What is it? The Emperor sounded very grumpy. Um according to the Naval Office, we lost contact with Force B. Its been about 12 hours and they have yet to respond to the nightly telegram. Could it have been a malfunction? A storm? It has been 12 hours and the probability of a malfunction on all the ships telegram is highly unlikely. What does the Head Admiral say about this? ...its gone Just like that? Poof? Disappeared? Ehh that is what he is saying. You expect me to believe that? Just tell the Naval Office that they are overthinking. Theres nothing that could sink that huge of a fleet how many days has it been 5 days that is in the middle of the ocean. Do you expect the Magusians to do that? Well, sir, um, some in the Naval Office believe it might be the Americans The Emperor was looking more and more miffed. He just wanted to close his eyes and sleep some more. Americans? This far in the ocean? Luckily stumbling upon the fleet? Sinking said entire fleet? Yes tha Without us receiving a distress call? Um, ye Tell the Naval Office to stop wasting my time. Its just a malfunction in some things or something. The wireless telegraphy is new. The servant looked down, not wanting to further anger him. ...understood The US fleet was about less than two days away from the Bem. RonTheBlackCat Chapter 13 – Invasion of the Bem RonTheBlackCat Sorry for the late chapter. I have been losing a lot of motivation to do anything recently for some reason. The current state of your author https://youtu.be/x5kCqvsO_7c Marine Corps Hymn "On the 7th day, when God rested, we overran His perimeter, stole the globe, and we''ve been running the show ever since. OORAH!" - The United States Marine Corps 0330 October 8th, 2019 CE 0446(Early Hour) End 8th, 195 AE Aginport, Bem Kingdom, Bem Continent Aginport, the capital of the Bem kingdom is bustling with people. If it has to be compared to a city on Earth, it would be quite similar to London in the 18th century. It is considered a grand city in this world. Though inferior to Machian and Magusian cities, it is much better than the cities in the rest of the world. One of the grandest structures in the city is the Kingdom Palace which is situated on a hill in the middle of the city. Most of the Aginporters have just eaten breakfast and are starting the day. Some are opening up their shops and others are visiting stores. In nearby teahouses, conversations were starting. Some talked about everyday business, the newest gossip, or political subjects. When it came to politics, discontent with the government was at an all-time high. This is because of the recent loss of 15,000 Bem soldiers on their expedition with the Mach against a new nation on the Formido continent. Mothers and wives are grieving because of this. In one of the teahouses, there is a big group talking about this. We need to change. We are basically reduced to a territory of the Mach! There was no reason for us to participate in that stupid invasion! I lost my son in that. The man who said that looked very gloomy. He was a good boy. You know. A good boy. Just wanted to serve his country. Not the damn Mach. Another man joined in after gulping down his beer. Well, we cant change anything. I mean people are happy I guess. There are those that are okay with the Machians. We arent actually experiencing any war in our country. Things are peaceful and everyone lives a good life. Going against the Machians wont be wise in the end. But the price of that is to send our young men out to die for another goddamn country. Or to lower our prices in trade with the Machians. Or to treat Machian visitors like the upper class. Everything is fucking determined by the Machians! Our laws, our lives, our survival. EVERYTHING. Wont it be better if we could ya know choose our leader? A strong and able leader that is willing to listen to us. I believe that the government should serve the people since it depends on them. The government forcing us to do what a majority of us dont like is absurd. Our king is not listening to us at all. We have inalienable rights that our current government keeps on ignoring! Choosing our leader? The government serving us? Unalienable rights? Have you been reading books by the philosopher Holden Wolfe? What if I am? You know those books are banned. Well, we are talking about topics that can get us in trouble. And not the regular trouble. Yeah... I swear, one of these days, our blind following of the Machians will doom us. Thats probably very far of... A massive explosion cut him off. What was that explosion? People rushed out to see what had just happened. Towards the Kingdom Palace, black smoke is seen rising. At that time Fort Aginport Since the capital city of Bem was so close to the sea, a massive fort garrisoning 30,000 soldiers, a tenth of the entire Bem military, was put a couple of miles out of the city and near the sea. It was one of the biggest forts on the Bem continent. A soldier was patrolling on top of the wall facing the sea. While patrolling, he noticed a low fast-flying object that was headed directly towards him. He hurriedly got off the wall and into the fort to alert the others Theres something coming towards us! I dont know what it is! Get the commander! All of a sudden an explosion can be heard. And then another one closer. That was the last thing he heard. All across the Bem kingdom, Bem forts were experiencing similar events. Less than an hour earlier Less than 500 miles from the Bem shore Smoke streak towards the sky as RGM-109E Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (Block IV TLAM-E) launch into the sky from Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, Ticonderoga-class cruisers, Virginia-class attack submarines, and Los Angeles-class attack submarines. The Tomahawk cruise missile has a range of 1,000 miles and has a 1,000-pound warhead. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and Ticonderoga-class cruisers have Mark 41 VLS (Vertical Launch Systems) that fire missiles. Most are carrying Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSMs), Anti-Submarine Rockets (ARSOCs), Tomahawk Cruise Missiles, RIM-174 Standard Missile-6s (SM-6s), and RIM-67 Standard Missile-2s (SM-2s). The Ticonderogas are also carrying some Harpoon missiles. Most of the Arleigh Burkes and Ticonderogas are carrying 32 Tomahawk missiles each. One of the Virginia-class attack submarines and all eleven Los Angeles-class attack submarines has 12 VLS tubes that are carrying a Tomahawk missile each. The last two Virginia-class each has 2 Virginia Payload Tubes (VPTs) carrying 6 Tomahawk missiles each. A hundred Tomahawks were launched at major fortifications, important military offices, and important government buildings. The Carrier Strike Fleet currently is in charge of destroying defenses, destroying centers of command, and warning the civilian population of the Bem. Less than an hour behind them is the Amphibious Ready Group of the II Marine Expeditionary Force. It is the biggest deployment of units since the Gulf War (The Gulf War deployment is still bigger than this deployment since it consisted of an entire Marine Expeditionary Force with an extra Marine Expeditionary Brigade attached to it). Because of the shrinkage in size of the amphibious assault fleet since the Gulf War, the entire current US amphibious assault fleet was being used to transport the II MEF. Twelve dock landing ships consisting of four Harpers Ferry-class and eight Whidbey-class, nine amphibious transport docks all of which are San Antonio-class, and nine amphibious assault ships consisting of one America-class and eight Wasp-class. Even with all these ships, the US Marines had to work out some extra space in order to fit the entire MEF. In total, the II MEF has about 40,000 marines. Half of the marines are part of the 2nd Marine Division. The 2nd Marine Division is headed by a headquarters battalion and has a lot of subordinate units. There are 30 M1A1 Abrams tanks of the 2nd Tank Battalion. They used to have 58 M1A1s but two companies had been deactivated. There are also LAV-25s (Light Armored Vehicles) of the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, AAV7s (Amphibious Assault Vehicles) of the 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, engineering equipment from the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, and the M777A2 artillery of the 10th Marine regiment. In addition to this is the infantry from the 2nd Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Regiment, 8th Marine Regiment, and 2nd Recon Battalion. Although the infantry mostly uses Humvees, they also have some JTLVs(Joint Tactical Light Vehicles) and MRAPs(Mine Resistant Ambush Protected). The rest of the II MEF is the 2nd Marine Logistics Group and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing The logistics group with logistical vehicles such as Oshkosh Logistic Vehicle System Replacement and Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement. The aircraft wing has aircraft such as the AV-8B II Harriers, F/A-18 A++/C/D Hornets, F-35Bs, MV-22B Ospreys, CH-53E Super Stallions, Ah-1W SuperCobras, and UH-1Y Venoms. On the USS Wasp Staff Sergeant Nick Gray, a commander of an M1A1 Abrams, is getting his tank crew ready for an amphibious landing from an LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushion). Their tank is supposed to be one of the first to hit the beach. Listen up boys! We dont know what will happen once we hit the beach but the moment we do, we are driving forward and shooting anyone that looks like a soldier that isnt ours. Specialist Uma Connolly, the driver, laughed a bit. Lighten up commander, I heard they only have muskets. We dont even need to shoot. I can drive over them. Just be ready. About 15 minutes after missile launches Multiple squadrons of F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets are being launched from the aircraft carriers. Most are carrying four Harpoon missiles each in order to strike the Bem Navy ships that are around the Bem and docked at Bem ports. Some of the squadrons are carrying PDU-5B dispenser units. 0400 October 8th, 2019 CE 0500 (Early Hour) End 8th, 195 AE Aginport, Bem Kingdom, Bem Continent People felt an air of worry, their capital city had just been attacked by something. Most did not know if this affected them. There seem to have been multiple explosions but they were far away. All of a sudden, there is a deafening roar coming from the sky. People looked up and around until someone noticed multiple arrow-like flying objects approaching at an insane speed. Most looked with astonishments and didnt talk. Their eyes follow the aircrafts as they flew over them. Then something dropped from one of the aircraft. A few moments earlier Closer to the Kingdom Palace General Conan Hamond set up a base of operations outside of the Aginport News Station. He was lucky. He had been away from the Military Office when the attack occurred. When he had rushed back to the Military Office after seeing black smoke rise from it, he found it was completely destroyed. Right now, he is gathering nearby soldiers, military officials, and guards in order to keep the peace. He had also sent a messenger on a horse to Fort Aginport to inquire for reinforcements. The reason that he set up a base of operations out of the main news station of Aginport was that it had one of the only two telegrams in the city. The other one was in the Kingdom Palace and now buried under rubble. He preferred the one in the Kingdom Palace since it connected directly to the Emperor of the Mach Imperium. The one he has is connected to a news station in Industropolis. Military officials at the base of operations are arguing. Does anyone witnessed what happened?! It just exploded. Cannons couldnt have possibly done this. They were disturbed by the same thing that attracted the attention of the Aginporters further out. General Hamond looked into the sky. Aircraft? Are those Machians? I knew it General! It was an attack made by the Machians! Those dont look like Machian planes to me, Captain. One of the aircraft is dropping something. In an F/A-18 E/F Bomb dropped. A PDU-5B dispenser unit detached from the F/A-18 and started falling towards the capital city of the Bem Kingdom. The PDU-5B then exploded into nearly 60,000 pieces of paper. They were leaflets. Back on the ground A leaflet floated down near the base of operations. General Conan Hamond picked it up and read it. It was in the Imperial Language but he was able to read it since the imperial Language is a required language to learn in school. Attention Bem! This is a message from the government of the United States of America. Our nation was transported to this world onto a continent called Formidon. We came in peace and tried to establish relations with native countries of this world. However, we were threatened and attacked by your country and the Mach. In order to ensure peace, we will be conducting an occupation to replace your government. We request you surrender and do not resist. Any resistance will be met with force. We guarantee that non-combatants will not be harmed. We guarantee the fair treatment of civilians. We also have 15,000 prisoners of your country. We guarantee their safe return after the war with your nation is over. 0440 October 8th, 2019 CE 0620 End 8th, 195 AE Industropolis, Mach Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent Extra, Extra! Bem Invaded! King Arthur is dead! Extra, Extra! Once the news station received the telegram from the Bem Kingdom, it immediately started printing out the story. In the Palace The news reached the Emperor in no time. What happened to Force B!? Your majesty, we have lost all contact with them. Emperor Industros looked down at the table with an angry expression. Military advisor/head general Flavius Tullas strode up next to the Emperor. We need to strike the Tullas YOU GOT US INTO THIS! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT Your majesty, I WE LOST HALF OF OUR FLEET! AND EVEN NOW YOU WANT US TO ATTACK! But I GUARDS THROW HIM IN THE DUNGEON! But... no wait, wait your majesty! I was just trying get off me! Unhand me you vixen! Yooouuurrr maaajesty! The military advisor was dragged out of the room. The Emperor was unnerved about the proximity of an unknown enemy. Sure the Magusians were a fearsome enemy, but they were a known enemy that had known weaknesses. The Americans, on the other hand, have somehow sunk many of the finest ships of the Mach. Prepare defenses! Prepare the Navy! Prepare soldiers and trenches! What about the Bem sir? Leave them to be pillaged. We have no obligation to protect them. But your majesty, the first Emperor declared a never-ending treaty with the Bem after the Bem helped us in supplies during the Great Civil War. That was more than a century ago! The only reason that I continued relations with the Bem is that there was no reason to cut it off! What matters most now is that we repel the possible coming invasion. Once we do, we can go back to the offensive. Chapter 14 – Aginport Secured RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the extraordinary late chapter. It''s just my brain has been feeling extremely tired for the entire day. All I wanted to do was to crawl back to bed but for there was stuff I had to do. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK He might have said all of them. He might have said one of them. IDK. But they are all attributed to him. "Great. Now we can shoot at those bastards from every direction." "Alright, they''re on our left, they''re on our right, they''re in front of us... they can''t get away this time." "We''ve been looking for the enemy for some time now. We''ve finally found him. We''re surrounded. That simplifies the problem." "They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can''t get away from us now!" - Chesty Puller (Most badass and decorated Marine in the history of the Corps) Said this in the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir when the 1st Marine Divison was surrounded by at least 8 (at most 22) Chinese Divisions. The First Marines broke through the Chinese lines and advanced south, destroying seven Chinese divisions in the process. https://youtu.be/Sam4lq2WHos Warrior Song Hard Corps 0430 October 8th, 2019 CE 0515 (Early Hour) End 8th, 195 AE Moston, Bem Kingdom, Bem Continent Aginport isnt an actual port as the name states. Its close proximity to the sea gave it that name. The town of Moston, more well known as the Gateway to Aginport, is the actual port. There is a main road from the town that leads directly to Aginport which is only a few miles away. Fort Aginport, which is now a steaming pile of rubble, is a few miles east of the town. Civilians are looking out of the town towards the port. Most of the Bem ships of the line had been destroyed by the flying arrows. Now they arent looking at the destroyed ships but at the incredible scene that was unfolding in front of their eyes. Many ships and weird flying machines are coming towards them. In the sea AAV-7s and MV-22B Ospreys make up the vanguard. Behind them are LCACs and LCUs carrying Humvees, LAV-25s, and M1A1 Abrams. Nick looks through the periscope of the Abrams. Once the beach is secured, we are moving up into the town. Be prepared for any hostiles. Sergeant Dillian Avery, the gunner, commented on that. At least this should be easier than Iraq. No RPGs. No IEDs. Nothing can threaten this baby. Private First Class Brian Marks, the loader, piped up. Ever heard of Murphys Law? Nope. Well, it states that everything that could go wrong will go wrong. I read about it online. Our intel tells us that these guys are only armed with cannons at the most. Our intel tells us jack shit. I have read the history. Bay of Pigs, Pearl Harbor, 9/11. Nick hasnt really listened to what has just been said between Dillian and Brian and interrupts them. Get ready boys! Near Fort Aginport The horse rider sent by General Hamond is looking towards the sea. He notices the landings and instantly gets back on his horse. On the beach Forward, Connolly! The LCAC had landed and the metal holding back the beast opened. All around them, there are marines pouring out of AAV-7s and MV-22B Ospreys landing and unloading troops. The beachhead was secured. Connolly, get us to the outskirts of the town. We will be followed by LAVs and a couple of other Abrams. Dillian shoot if there are any hostiles. I dont care if they are armed with swords. Just shoot them cause they will endanger the infantry. Nick hoped to God that there isnt anybody stupid enough to try and attack them. Especially if the said attacker was only armed with a musket. 0450 October 8th, 2019 CE 0525 (Early Hour) End 8th, 195 AE Aginport, Bem Kingdom, Bem Continent The horse rider arrived back to the base of operations at breakneck speeds. General! General! Invaders! They are arriving in tanks and aircraft! Where are the reinforcements from Fort Aginport? The entire fort is gone. The same thing to what happened to the Kingdom Palace. General Hamond slammed his fist on the table. What are the numbers? I dont know sir I got back here as soon as I saw their machines. There seem to have been 40 or so aircraft and tanks. Hundreds of soldiers! General Hamond wasnt sure what to do. He had only about a thousand soldiers and guards. Not enough to repel any substantial invasion force. Especially when the enemy had advanced weaponry. General Hamond sighed. This was the capital city, he had to defend it no matter what. Gather the troops! We will stop them at the gates of our city! For the kingdom! A few minutes earlier Moston, Bem Kingdom, Bem Continent Nicks M1A1 Abrams arrives outside of the town. It is awfully quiet. Connolly, move slowly forward. Damn these precautions. I can drive full speed towards their city! Slowly! Dillian laughs. Chill, Connolly. This aint the Gulf War. The Abrams slowly edges forward as Nick observes the surroundings. Seems clear, the infantry can secure the town. A few minutes laters The Abrams situated themselves at the end of the town. The town had already been secured by infantry. Most of the residents are viewing them through partially closed windows and doors. More units are being landed onto the beaches as time went by. Brian snorts. Well, that wasnt much. Could they have already surrendered? Dont get your hopes up. Back in Iraq, we believed we won when we removed Saddam Hussien. Boy, were we wrong. Enough Iraq references, Dillian. Nick, we got any orders? We will be proceeding forward in a bit, Connolly. A few more minutes later We are to get to the outskirts of the capital. Abrams, LAVs, and Humvees will follow. Hell yeah! Full speed ahead! Normal speed, Connolly. Aw, no fun, says Connolly jokingly. 0500 October 8th, 2019 CE 0530 (Early Hour) End 8th, 195 AE Aginport, Bem Kingdom, Bem Continent They are approaching what seemed to be the outskirts of the city. Around them are still plains, but houses could be seen. Near the houses at the outskirts of Aginport The tanks are approaching! Get into formation! Our Generals orders are clear, they shall not pass! At the entrance of Aginport on the road that connected it to Moston, two preloaded 3-pounders are suddenly rolled up out of the cover of the houses and onto the street. These cannons were kept in a guard armory in case of a mass uprising. Fire! One cannonball misses and struck the ground on the left of the tank. Dirt was thrown up into the air where it hit. The second one struck home. Right on the front of the tank. It bounces off like a ping pong ball hitting a paddle. Reload! Quickly! On each cannon, one of the cannon crew ran to the front of the cannon to clean it with a sponge. Inside the M1A1 Abrams Two cannons spotted! Load M1028. Loaded. An M1028 canister round flys out of the Abrams tank barrel and struck one of the cannons. Being on the receiving end of an American M1 Abrams is not a good experience. Wise men in the near future of this world will say that. The canister round explodes into hundreds of high-speed balls that take out both the cannons and their crews. It literally liquified those in its radius. Dillian seems quite curious about what had just happened. I do have to say, much easier than taking out a man holding an RPG. I always wondered how a cannon would fare against modern armor. This is Armadillo One, we ran into an ambush. Two cannons. Threats are neutralized, we are moving. After reporting what had just happened, Nick sighed. Connolly, forward. Be careful, we have probable hostiles in the city. Nick feels worried but at the same time, not worried. It feels natural for him to feel a little jittery in entering an urban area with a tank. Tanks are not meant for urban warfare. His M1A1 isnt even equipped with TUSK (The Urban Survival Kit). On the other hand, his enemies should have nothing that was capable of stopping the tank. Aginport, Bem Kingdom, Bem Continent A few minutes later General, the cannons did nothing. The enemy convoy is advancing into the city. The General was looking at the map of the city. Well stop them here and surround them. But General, we only have muskets. We cant just surrender the city without a fight! Outskirts of Aginport With infantry securing the back, the convoy of M1A1s, LAV-25s, and Humvees moves into the city. Nick is looking through his periscope and tracking everything. The city is like an 18th-century European city. The street is big enough to fit his Abrams quite well. Right now, the streets are empty and the houses have their windows and doors shut. They move at a brisk pace towards the center of the city. Nick hopes that the city would have no more hostiles and that the populace would wisen up to the fact that they probably couldnt defeat this convoy. As they move forward, they enter what seemed to be a massive town square that is full of soldiers. Further into Aginport Stop the tank! Dont fire! What? Why not? Lets see what they do. What they do? Nick! They are hostile enemies! Dillian, give them a chance, Give them a chance, are you crazy?! They know they cant damage the tank with their guns. Opposing view The metal sand-colored beast in front of them came to a stop as if waiting to see what they would do. All of the Bem soldiers have never seen a tank. They only have heard of them and what they looked like. Some looked determined to defend their homes, others trembled a bit. Fire! They have already loaded their muskets so they raise their rifles to shoot in volley fire. Most of the musket balls fly straight at the tank. They all ping off. Inside the M1A1 Abrams See, they opened fire! Nick! ..use the machine guns, I dont want to cause any collateral with the 120. Got it. The M240 7.62 mm machine gun on the coaxial opens up. Flashes come out of the coaxial as Dillian swept right and left using the machine gun. The bullets rip through the unarmored yellow regimental coats of the Bem soldiers. Blood is flung everywhere and soldiers are torn apart. There is instant panic in the organized lines of Bem soldiers. Never before have they actually seen a weapon that could fire that fast. Many drop their muskets in an attempt to flee faster. Private Marks sighs. Cant we just shoot in the air to scare them away? You wont feel bad for them when they are armed with RPGs. Just like in Iraq, give a damn civvy an RPG and there they go murdering your friends says Dillian as he continues to operate the machine gun. 5 minutes later The square was deserted of any Bem soldiers. Only the dead remain. There is at least 40 dead. An entire line formation. 0520 October 8th, 2019 CE 0540 (Early Hour) End 8th, 195 AE A commanding officer who ran the moment his troops were fired upon, is huffing from the running when he got to General Hamond. General, we failed What do you mean we failed!? We couldnt stop them. How many men are left? Where are the survivors? There were 500 men at that square! Im not sure. They had weapons similar to that of what I had read about the Mach. We opened fire once they got into view but we stood no chance. The moment the tank opened fire, our lines were immediately scattered. Their gun tore through an entire line of soldiers! They ran?! Are they still able to regroup? The commanding officer shook his head in a hurry. I dont know where they are. The line immediately disintegrated. General Hamond didnt know what to do. The Americans are already en route. Half of his force is already gone. There has been no response from the Machs. He cant defend the capital anymore. The only option he has is to retreat. 0535 October 8th, 2019 CE 0547 (Early Hour) End 8th, 195 AE Seems like this is the kings palace M1A1 Abrams, LAV-25s, and Humvees roll up around the destroyed Kingdom Palace. There is an extremely wide street that goes around the Kingdom Palace so the convoy could line upon it. Marines disembark from the LAVs and Humvees in order to secure the area. They have secured the political center of the Bem Kingdom. Elsewhere in Bem Everywhere in Bem, citizens know that something is happening. Some have witnessed the destruction of a military base, others have heard of the destruction, and most have seen the flying arrows. How in a minute, without notice, and out of nowhere, the bases would just explode. Then the flying arrows came spreading messages of war. In a minor town in Bem A man is sitting on a table with his hands holding his hand and looking at a very old book. He then looks up at the sky. Dear goddess, are these the demons that you have warned about? Their flying arrows? Their weapons that come out of nowhere? Oh, Goddess! Where is the hero that you have promised?! If these ancient texts are true, you have promised to summon a hero in our time of need! I beg of you, as your devout follower to save humanity! Chapter 15 – Mach… you’re next! RonTheBlackCat Barely on time. At where I live its 11:59 pm. Still Sunday. I''m gonna need to go to bed now... Also, everyone, I hope you all stay safe. This coronavirus thing is getting bad here in the States. Children, teens, and young adults shouldn''t need to worry. If you are immunocompromised or elderly, do not panic but be extremely cautious. In order to not overwhelm hospitals and spread it further, everyone should wash their hands and listen to the recommendations to stop coronavirus Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK "Where the hell do you put the bayonet?" - Chesty Puller He said this while at a flamethrower demonstration. Apparently he wanted to be ready to stab the men he set on fire. https://youtu.be/sHOq6Sl9u38 Wild Blue Yonder US Air Force Song The invasion of Bem had gone on quite smoothly. With the capital already under American control and the king dead, the governors of the various Bem provinces have sent negotiators. In addition, cruise missiles have also done their jobs. Major forts that were housing tens of thousands of Bem soldiers had been wiped out at the beginning of the invasion. With less than 100,000 soldiers spread out across the continent, the governors knew that the only way to save themselves is through negotiations. Through the message sent by the Americans, they understood that the Americans just wanted to replace the government. If they could curry favor with these Americans, they might hopefully be able to become the next king. 2122 October 8th, 2019 CE 0141 (New Hour) End 9th, 195 AE In a FOB (Forward Operating Base) outside of Aginport Hey, Staff Sergeant, is this over already. Just the political shit now. You think we gonna get deployed to whatever that Imperium place is? What else are they gonna deploy, private? Nick stamped out the cigarette butt after he threw it to the ground and walked away. Leaving Brian behind who was leaning on the tank. Aginport has been completely occupied by American soldiers. There was minimal damage because of the lack of resistance and the fact that the cruise missiles only targeted political and military valuable targets. Since the capital also served as the political center of this province, the entire province was politically under American control. 0630 (Mid Hour) End 11th, 195 AE Near the center of the Mach Imperium A passenger steam train sped down the tracks. Inside the train on one of the seats, a soldier is penning a letter. Dear mother, I hope you forgive me for not writing back to the various mail you have sent me. The trenches are not a comfortable place so I have rarely gotten the chance to sit down and write to you. I enjoyed reading the mails and Im glad to hear that Aurora has been engaged. Tell her congratulations and that her older brother will be back soon. I hope that father and everyone else in the village is well. Mother, you do not have to worry about me. Im currently being redeployed to the eastern beaches. I have always wanted to visit the beaches, I hope to enjoy my stay there. The trenches on the front were not the nicest places to be so I would probably enjoy this change. I hope you well and I will write again once I have more time. Love, your son, Furius. Laughter can be heard in the other seats of the train as soldiers talked amongst themselves. Being on a train is a nice experience after being in the trenches for so long. Furiuss friend, Mercator looked over his shoulder. A letter to your mother? Yeah. Furius slips the letter inside in his bag. Nervous? Well somewhat. Who wouldnt? I heard that a third of the Navy is destroyed and the Bem has been defeated. Furius, theres nothing to worry about. The Emperor is calling for people to join the army for the defense of the Empire. There should about an extra million ready men by the end of the season. The enemy cant stop us all. I heard that they are even constructing trenches and bunkers near the beaches. There are also rumors that the generals are thinking about pulling the landships out of retirement Industro Is? I thought we had hundreds of Industro IIs. Why do we need Industro Is? Theres more armaments on them. I heard they are gonna be used like mobile bunkers. From what I heard, the enemy we will be facing is well-armed. We are gonna need those extra Industros. Our enemys navy must be very good to be able to easily squash ours. Mercator snickered. Our Navy has been on their high horses for too long. About time someone knocked them off. Mercator, the Navy is an integral part of our Imperiums defense. Without our Navy, couldnt the enemy just bombard our positions? Heard that there is also the construction of naval fortifications with that in mind. Furius wasnt keen on the idea of using naval forts. Isnt that a strategy of those Magusians? It works for them. Why not use it. I hope we dont get positioned there. Rather not face the bombardment of a navy that can rival ours. Eh, dont worry. I heard that the recruits are going there. We are most likely going to the second line of defense. I think the Emperor doesnt want to waste experienced soldiers if the recruits can stop them. Their navy might be good but that might not be true for their army. They are from a continent with no other adversaries. Maybe their navy is better since they are surrounded by the ocean. As I said, they cant stop us all. The size of our army would be similar to the invasion force we amassed in the last war about the Magus. At that time, 500,000 Machian soldiers are being transported like Furius and Mercator. 125,000 from the Mach-Magus front and the rest are the ones based around the country. Industro IIs, Industro Is, and artillery pieces can be seen on trains across the country as they race towards the same location. Across the Imperium, men are eagerly signing up for a chance to experience the glory of war. Rarely in history had the Mach Imperium called upon civilians for war. They had always had a huge and well-trained standing army against the Magus Imperium. Men were not interested in joining the army in peacetime because they have heard of the boredom of the trenches. Since there was no actual war occurring, the army was mostly guarding the border with the Magus. Now, they had a chance to experience the glory of war without the need to wait or train. 2000 October 12th, 2019 CE Tampa, Florida Mr.President, Operation Rising Eagle is a complete success. We will be proceeding forward with Operation Diving Eagle. Thats good to hear General. General Thompson put down the phone and sighed. Out of all the things that had to be done for Operation Rising Eagle, the main thing, the invasion, was the easiest. The logistics and political parts are the hardest. The logistics seem to be mostly solved at this point. The Military Sealift Command is now sending supplies to Bem. An airfield near Aginport is under hasty construction to bring in supplies by plane and add air support from the Air Force for the upcoming Operation Diving Eagle. It would require a month. Of course, this gave the enemy time to prepare their defenses. If they were facing modern foes, it wouldnt make sense to give the enemy time. General George S. Patton said, A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. For example, the Nazis gave the Soviets time before the Battle of Kursk when the Nazis decided to delay their offensive to build up tanks. This led to a Soviet victory. However, the Nazis were facing an opponent who was equal to them. The United States now faced an enemy woefully unprepared for modern warfare. That difference nulled any way for the Machians to gain an advantage by being more prepared. It actually might even help the United States. If they could wipe out the well prepared Machian defense within days, then the morale of the Machians will plummet. Now the only issue was political. Who will replace the Bem king? It is obvious that the various governors of Bem want the title. Each came to Aginport with negotiators who brought gifts. On the plus side, none of the governors are acting hostile. They have all agreed to surrender and listen to the United States. Because the missile strike targets were only the Kingdom Palace and various military installations, the political structure of the Bem kingdom is mostly intact. In order to take advantage of this, the United States decided to keep things as is. The governors will still be governors. They have been warned that their fate will be similar to the king if they step out of line. The only change would be that the United States government has replaced the king. That will only last until after the war with the Machians is finished. The best course of action afterward would be finding a suitable puppet. They needed someone who will listen to the United States and also be accepted by the Bem. This decision will come in the future. 0711 End 11th, 195 AE Primopolis, Septentrio Magus Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent Emperor Arstant faced his group of advisors and Robert. I believe we should launch an invasion of the Machians to coincide with the Americans. We can regain the land we lost in the last war. The Fourth Mach-Magus War which occurred 35 years ago started when the Machians launched an all-out surprise assault. The Machians were able to push through about 400 miles of land before being stopped. Then the Magusian counterattack was able to regain 200 miles. This led to the end of that war since both sides were exhausted from fighting for almost three years. Your majesty, I highly oppose that decision. We are not ready to face the large Machian army. From our spies, I have heard that they are raising an even larger army. A few of the advisors seemingly nodded their heads in agreement with what Caius said. The Emperor was not happy. The Americans easily destroyed a third of the Mach Navy and defeated the Bem within a day. With their invasion coinciding with ours, we can easily take on the Mach. Why are you so opposed to this idea. Defeating the Mach Navy and the Bem means nothing. The Bem has greatly inferior technology and defeating a navy does not mean superiority on land. Emperor Arstant narrowed his eyes. If you do not want to use the military, I would like to borrow it for a time. Your majesty, think wisely. You have to understand that Im trying to prevent a disaster. If the Americans do win, we will never be able to regain our lost lands. Caius Igennus sighed. Your majesty, how about this? We could wait until the Americans strike before launching our invasion. If the American invasion starts successfully, then we can attack. If not, then I was right. 0430 November 11th, 2019 CE 0515 (Early Hour) End 42nd, 195 AE What was once a large open field 20 miles out of Aginport has now turned into a small airfield. The airstrip is long but the rest of the airbase is lacking. However, all necessities required for the Air Force to operate there is present. In the future, more facilities will be added but it currently has enough to support what the United States is going to need for Operation Diving Eagle. A Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is the first plane to land on the airstrip. With the help of aerial refueling from KC-135 Stratotankers, aircraft are able to make the trip from the United States to Bem. Of course, that means the planes could also directly fly to and bomb Mach without the need for a stop at Bem. However, rearmament would have been a major issue and it wasnt logistically sound. RonTheBlackCat Industro I Chapter 16 – Diving Eagle RonTheBlackCat My computer is derping on me for some reason. Discord vvv https://discord.gg/mhjetEK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzI3-73ELxw Warrior Song Aer Vis "You cannot invade mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass" - Isoroku Yamamoto (disputed quote) 0703 (Mid Hour) Start 6th, 196 AE Furius listlessly looks up to the sky. To him, this is the Mach-Magus front all over again. Although the Emperor said that an invasion was imminent, a season has already passed. The naval fortifications on all of the possible landing sites have mostly finished construction. Industro Is and IIs are stationed next to the naval fortifications and behind the trenches. Artillery had been set up behind the front. The Navy patrolled the oceans and formations of Maximil fighters constantly flew overhead. All the men are ready for combat. The only thing missing was the enemy. Mercator, is there even an enemy? Maybe they got scared. Seems like they dont want to attack us on land. Well, at least this new trench does feel a bit better than the old one. Less filthy. A trench is still a trench. Now Im thinking the recruits are lucky. They get a free vacation on the beach. Heard the beach isnt better. The recruits are getting bored there too. I wish I could just go home. Im definitely going to miss my sisters wedding if this goes on. We still have about a year on the contract. My sisters wedding is probably going to be after a year. You get to go home to attend that then. No, there are rumors that until the situation is resolved, we are going to be staying here. Huh. It cant be longer than a year if the enemy never shows up. 1820 January 6th, 2020 CE 0110 (New Hour) Start 7th, 196 AE A hundred or so miles off of the Machian Imperium Submarine Squadron Six, consisting of six Los Angeles-class attack submarines and three Virginia-class attack submarines, is patrolling the oceans close to the Machian Imperium. Its purpose is to be an advance force and sink any Machian ships they find Captain, the sonar detected a large group of Machian ships. Ten ships accompanied by one submarine. A Desmond-class battleship supported by destroyers, cruisers, and a submarine is patrolling the ocean. They have been relegated to this patrol role because of the heavy losses the Navy had sustained in combat with the United States and the fact that any ships that try to sail closer to the Bem continent get sunk. It was a massive embarrassment for the Navy to lose so many ships. However, they are still a force that could still be called number one when compared to the Magus. Currently, the threat of an American attack is too large for any Machian ship to travel further out. The Machian Navy also has understood that attacks by the Americans are unpredictable so lead ships of naval formations are now required to report their situation every hour. In addition to this, the Machian Navy decided to add submarines to their naval squadrons in an effort to understand what allows the Americans to sink their ships so fast. They hoped that the submarines would be undetected by the American navy. A few minutes later The nine attack submarines approach their target undetected and got within the firing range. Eleven targets sailing in a formation at a slow speed. Blissfully unaware of the silent submarines of death approaching them. Eleven Mk-48 torpedos launch from the tubes of the submarines and head straight at the Machian naval squadron. Swimming through the ocean at speeds of 63 mph, the first torpedo hit the Machian submarine and detonate on the side of the sub. With a warhead of 650 lbs, the explosion rips the submarine in half and doom any possible crew that had survived the explosion. A pillar of water rises out of the water where the submarine was. The accompanying ships immediately try to establish contact with the submarine in order to figure out what that pillar of water was. It is too late. One by one, torpedos start hitting their marks. IS Triginta Quinque is the first surface ship to be hit by a torpedo. The explosion lifts the destroyer up as it breaks in half. Not even a second after the explosion, other ships start facing the same experience. Shouts of panic set in in the still unhit ships. They are facing an enemy that they cant even see. Americans! The Americans are attacking! Contact headquarters! We need reinforcements! Its too late! Abandon ship! Abandon ship! I dont want to die! Sailors are jumping overboard even if their ships arent even hit yet. The officers of the ship try to futilely calm their men by shouting orders and words to lift their spirits. The last torpedo hits the IS Aemilia, the Desmond-class battleship, and blows a hole in its starboard. Within seconds, water is gushing in the ship and its start listing right. The nine submarines continued on. Two hundred miles from the Machian Imperium. Four carrier strike groups are waiting for the start of the air campaign. Four Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, twenty Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, four Ticonderoga cruisers, and four Los Angeles-class attack submarines. American airfield in Bem The airfield has gotten quite large when compared to what it was a couple of months ago. Men run around in the airfield as ground crews prep the aircraft and airmen prepare for their missions.F-15Es of the 4th Fighter Wing are being loaded with missiles and bombs that will be used to take out a variety of military and political targets. F-16Cs of the 20th Fighter Wing are being prepared as escorts. Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana B-52Hs of the 307th Bomb Wing are also being loaded up with missiles and bombs for strikes on high priority targets. They will make a round trip from their air force base to conduct the strike. 2000 January 6th, 2020 CE 0100 (New Hour) Start 7th, 196 AE FOB outside of Aginport, Bem Nick looks at his watch as his crew gets into their tanks. The air campaign should be starting quite soon. Uma looks up from his position So we are getting deployed after that? Seems like it, Connolly. Dillian laughs. Well probably just be facing the bombed-out remains. Nothing much for us to do. Just clean up. Brian counters. Not quite sure about that. Heard we will be facing about 1.5 million men. That big of an army should require weeks of bombing. The air force is probably just gonna soften them up for us. We will be doing some work. What if your intel is wrong. What did you say before? Murphys Law? No. Murphys Law is the idea that everything that could go wrong will go wrong. Not whatever you are saying. Pipe down you two, we have to get this tank ready. If we dont get there fast enough, the A2s from the Army will get there first. Connolly, were going. 2010 January 6th, 2020 CE 0205 (Rise Hour) Start 7th, 196 AE Industropolis, Mach Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent There is heavy pounding on the door to the bedroom of Emperor Industros. It jolts the Emperor and the Empress awake. Your majesty! An urgent voice came from the closed door. The Emperor rubbed his face tiredly and got out of the bed. He proceeds to open the door. What is it? Its still the middle of the night. We have lost contact with one of our patrols. We did not receive their hourly report. This gets the Emperors attention. Is it the Americans? Most likely your majesty. The Emperor looks back towards his wife. We are leaving Trebillia. Wake the children and get them ready. He then turns around to face the reporting servant. Have the luggage, coaches, and people prepared. Understood your majesty. The servant quickly headed towards the servant quarters. 2020 January 6th, 2020 CE 0110 (New Hour) Start 7th, 196 AE American airfield at Bem Fully loaded F-16Cs and F-15Es start to take off from the airfield in procession. Multiple V formations are formed in the skies. All directly headed towards the Machian Imperium. 2045 January 6th, 2020 CE 0222 (Rise Hour) Start 7th, 196 AE Two hundred miles from the Machian Imperium. Tomahawk cruise missiles take to the skies from the Arleigh Burkes and Ticonderogas in the four carrier strike groups. Industropolis, Mach Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent It is the early morning and the city of Industropolis starts to awake. Cars and people start appearing on the streets. Life is normal even with another enemy country appearing. To them, it seems to be another front that wont change for decades. Just like the front with the Magusians. It even feels less of a threat since the enemy is separated by the ocean. A loud explosion rocks the bustling city as the palace and government buildings mysteriously explode. Stunned civilians looked towards the center of the city where the smoke rose. Major factories, coal-fired power plants, airfields, military installations, and oil refineries across the Mach Imperium are struck by Tomahawks. These locations were marked out clearly as targets through earlier satellite observations. The beaches of the Machian Imperium facing the Eastern Sea (Atlantic Ocean) In a naval fortification that has a 145 mm gun, the crew manning it is lazing around. This is boring. I know the posters promised us the adventure of war. Its been a season and I dont see no war. Kinda regret signing that contract. Theres nothing to do at home but at least I can go anywhere I want back then. Hey, do you guys see that? See what? Look up at th Before he could finish, an explosion blows apart the fortification. Squadrons of F-15Es drop GBU-10 Paveway IIs on the line of naval fortifications. With a 2,000 pound warhead, they are specifically made for bunkers like these. The second line of defense Uhhhh Mercator, what are those? Mercator squints his eyes toward the sky. Those are planes? They arent ours, are they? Unless we developed a new plane and theres an airfield in the ocean, then no. Their heads turn to follow the weird-looking planes as they fly overhead at incredible speeds. the artillery behind us What are our anti-aircraft guns doing? I think they are too high and too fast 5 miles behind the second line of defense Hundreds of 84mm artillery are set up in a neat line far behind the front. Artillerymen are elevating and lowering their artillery as practice. 77mm anti-aircraft guns are placed around the artillery. With an ability to fire 13,000 feet into the sky, no known domesticated dragon or plane should be able to avoid it. Within seconds of being spotted by the Machians, F-15Es flew overhead. While the anti-aircraft guns are still being adjusted to aim at the F-15Es, the jets already flew far out of sight. Moments later, the line of artillery explodes in a massive fireball as secondary explosions occur because of the artillery ammunition lying around. AGM-65 Mavericks had been dropped from the planes onto them. 50 miles south of Industropolis Venusia Hidden Airfield Many camouflaged airfields are scattered across the Mach Imperium in order to avoid being scouted by Magusian dragon forces. These airfields are hard to be seen by satellites. They have been painted the color of their surroundings and are somewhat covered by vegetation. Sir, we have received reports of an aerial attack on the new front near the town of Dimale. Dispatch the fighters! About an hour later Maximil fighters are overhead as they look down towards the now destroyed artillery line. Although they got here as fast as possible, they couldnt find any enemy. All they could do at this point is to return home and give a report about what they saw. 0820 January 7th, 2020 CE 0810 (Mid Hour) Start 7th, 196 AE A convoy of cars accompanied by military vehicles is making way down a forested road. In one of the cars, the Emperor and his family are unharmed and are on their way to a secret location where they will stay for the period until the war ends. Chapter 17 – Death From Above RonTheBlackCat Finally, my computer stopped derping. Right now, I''m thinking about going back to past chapters to answer some of your guy''s comments. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK "Mors Ab Alto" (Latin for Death From Above) - Motto of the 7th Bomb Wing https://youtu.be/EVCtCWXB2W4 Devil Dogs Sabaton 0238 January 9th, 2020 CE 0518 (Early Hour) Start 9th, 196 AE In the air over the Machian Imperium Fox Three. Fox Three. Fox Three. Three AIM-120 AMRAAM detach from each of the wings of the two F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet. In a combat air patrol over a town near the beaches of the Mach Imperium, the two Super Hornets had detected six aircraft about 90 miles away. 90 Miles Away A squadron of Maximil fighters is on its way to patrol the airspace over the beaches. Constant reports of enemy aircraft have forced the Machian Air Corps to resort to the idea of consistent air patrols. Before, whenever there are reports of enemy aircraft, airplanes would be detached to scour the area to find them. However, every single time the enemy aircraft can get away and leave a wake of destruction behind. A few minutes later Six missiles streaked through the skies at Mach 4 (3045 mph) towards its targets. Flying at 110 mph, one of the six Maximil pilots notice two small dots in front of them. It didnt seem like enemy aircraft because of its small size and how it didnt match the description of what had been witnessed. The two small dots soon turned into six. By then all of the pilots had noticed them. Whatever it was, it seems to be coming closer every second and is heading directly towards them. The six fighters break formation to not collide with whatever is flying towards them. To their surprise and horror, the six dots all adjusted course. One following each fighter. They desperately try to shake the dots. They apply what they had learned in training on how to dodge wyverns and other planes. One of the pilots starts an upward climb hoping that whatever is following him cant change altitude. This upward climb slows the fighter down. The pursuing object also starts an upward climb seemingly without slowing down. In seconds, the dot has struck the fighter. In a fiery ball, the Maximil fighter explodes in the air and the pilot dies. The five other fighters turn around in hopes that they could outrun the objects. It is a futile attempt as in mere seconds, all five are destroyed. 0440 January 9th, 2020 CE 0620 (Mid Hour) Start 9th, 196 AE Venusia Hidden Airfield On the grasses near the airfield, a man with a clipboard runs up to a uniformed person who is watching the planes take off and land. Sir, Squadron 22 is late by an hour. We have no reports of them coming back. Which area have we sent them to? I believe the sector above the town of Ostia. Squadron 33 should be patrolling that area now. Lets see if they find them. On the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington Captain, we are detecting increased enemy air activity. We just had two Super Hornets shoot down six possible Machian warplanes. Clear the skies. Understood. 0740 January 9th, 2020 CE 0750 (Mid Hour) Start 9th, 196 AE Venusia Hidden Airfield Squadron 33, Squadron 346, Squadron 264, Squadron 566, Squadron 578, Squadron 351, Squadron 510, and Squadron 270 are late by an hour. We are deeming them as lost. We are receiving reports of people witnessing our planes being shot down with no visible enemy in sight. The planes will seem fine and then in mere seconds, they will start performing evasive maneuvers before turning into a giant fireball. There are also reports of things like small metal arrows flying towards the plane but that isnt confirmed yet. How is the other airfield charged with patrol doing? They have lost nine squadrons. We cant keep this up stop all patrols. But sir, we will leave the entire country vulnerable to air attack! These patrols arent working. If we continue at this rate, we wont have enough fighters to protect our bombers. What do we even need the bombers for?! The Emperor has given orders that once the Americans land, we will bomb them to oblivion with our bombers. Sir, the bombers are useless in this situation if they can shoot down anything we put in the sky! The enemy will be flying anywhere they want with no opposition if we stop the patrols. The patrols have done nothing but lose planes and pilots! As you said they can shoot down anything, why waste the fighters when we can do an all-out surprise attack and obliterate their landing force! We need bombers escorted by fighters for that. If we have enough fighters acting as cover for whatever they are shooting down our planes with, then the bombers can get to our enemy. We need to at least find a way to shoot the enemy down! Is this what the Machian Air Corps is? Are we too cowardly to defend our countrys skies! Anger flamed in the airfield commanders eyes. Thats enough! Im not wasting any more pilots on useless patrols! Get back to your station! 0740 January 10th, 2020 CE 0750 (Mid Hour) Start 10th, 196 AE Near the town of Isca (In between the beach and Industropolis) Pomponia is strolling down the quiet road with groceries in hand. All around her are the beautiful flat plains and the clear blue skies. Her house is about a couple of miles away from the nearby town of Isca. She moved there because she liked to live in solitude and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. A slow roar came overhead and Pomponia looks up. It is a scene that she has seen many times recently. On the first few occasions, she went off the road to avoid being spotted. After a while, it seemed like those planes didnt care about her so she resumed walking as she always does. She hopes that her peace wont be broken by this war but knows that war is coming to her. The constant roars she hears throughout the day shows that the Machian Air Corps doesnt stand a chance and that the enemy would be upon them soon. So far, she has not seen any Machian airplanes for the entire day. She has also heard that most cities have lost their electricity because of the bombings. 0830 January 10th, 2020 CE 0815 (Mid Hour) Start 10th, 196 AE Port Bannock Many warships that arent out on patrol or arent on the other side of the Imperium can be seen at this port docked. Losses have been mounting for the Great Eastern Fleet because of past battles with the Americans and the patrols being attacked by them. With the Machian fleet losing more than half of its ships, the admirals have decided that they can no longer help. They have decided to dissolve the Great Eastern Fleet and integrate them with the Great Western Fleet. Sending all the ships onto the other side of the Imperium and leaving this side with no navy for defense. It was obvious to all that continuing naval operations on this side of the Imperium would be futile. They needed to make sure that they still had a good enough navy to keep the Magusians at bay. What remains of the Great Eastern Fleet is preparing to leave the port. All of a sudden, explosions occur on many of the docked ships. About 20 minutes earlier Less than 170 miles away. Squadrons of F-15Es unleash a horde of Harpoon missiles and turn back. Satellite observations had shown a gathering of Machian warships at the port that they are currently targeting. To ensure that the seas are clear for the amphibious assault, it was decided to destroy all Machian warships. This gathering was the perfect chance for that. The submarines have shown the Machian Navy death from below. Now it was time to show them death from above. 0230 January 11th, 2020 CE 0515 (Early Hour) Start 11th, 196 AE Airspace right outside of the Mach Imperium Ten B-52Hs loaded up each with 70,000 pounds of munitions approach the Machian Imperium. With most of the airfields, factories, power plants, military installations, oil refineries, and important government buildings bombed to oblivion, it has a special target. A target perfectly suited for a bomber. Carrying CBU-87s (cluster bombs), it headed towards the Machian trench line. A static defense with anti-air emplacements so obsolete that it has no hope of reaching the altitude of a B-52. The trenches Uhhh Mercator What is it Furius? ...run RUN RUN!! Furius scrambles over the trench and starts sprinting. Around Mercator, soldiers look up and point towards the massive plane that is flying directly towards them. What is his Majestys name is that. Hey Furius! Furius, wait up! Some soldiers do the same and start running out of the trench. Most just stare at the black dragon-like plane as it comes closer. Some that tried to run is ordered back to the trenches by an officer. As the ones who remain watches, they notice objects falling out of the bottom of the gigantic planes. Towards where the plane dropped the objects, the ground there starts to explode. Officers shout to their soldiers to get down. Soldiers dive to the ground. Twenty minutes later Three miles out of the trenches Out of breath, Mercator huffed his words to Furius who was next to him seemingly dying from the running. Furius... what was that... about. I... felt death. I just I just felt that I needed to run. To get far away. We are going to get punished for this. It looked like one of those Legendary Dragons from the stories. Anybody would be scared of that. They turned around. They had run a couple of miles from the trench. Just then, a massive explosion along the trench occurred. They had to shield their eyes because of the fiery blast. It got bombed. I hope everyones fine. I think I saw some others run with me when I ran out. I think the trench is deep enough to protect everyone. The tanks are probably gone though. An hour later Back at the trench See, I saved our asses. The trench is gone. What replaced it is a massive crater forming a line where the trench was. Not even bodies seem to have remained. Mercator tried to look down the trench line to see if anything remained. How long does this go on. They couldnt have bombed the entire trench system on this front. Mercator, I think we should retreat. Theres no reason for staying here. Anybody who didnt run is dead. Where do we go? How about the closest town. That should be Andrea. In the throne room of the Emperor of Magus Imperium. Cant we begin the attack? Your majesty, I still highly oppose that decision. You said that if the American invasion is successful that we can attack. Of course, we can attack if the invasion is successful. Well the invasion is successful, what are you opposing. I dont see any invasion. WHAT?! No invasion? Didnt you hear that the Americans have nearly disabled the entire Mach Air Corps and destroyed a large part of the Machian fleet in the Eastern Seas? The Machians are literally on their last legs. But the Machians still have more than a million of men on our side of the front. Their western fleet is also completely intact and dangerous. Caius, just because your grandfather was the one who stopped the Machian advance doesnt mean you get to impose your will onto my military. Your majesty, I will let you know that I have many generals that are more loyal to me than to you. Caius Igennus, are you speaking of TREASON!? Emperor Arstant spat those words out like poison. He understood that Caius had many generals who supported him but did not like it when Caius used that card to give himself power. Your majesty, all I want is to protect and defend our nation. Nothing else. Now is not the right time. If all you are going to talk about is invading the Machians, I will excuse myself. Caius walked out of the throne room without looking back. Chapter 18 – The Eagle Has Landed RonTheBlackCat I will be making a Patreon soon! I''m thinking about maybe even allowing you guys to read a chapter ahead in Patreon. IDK. If I can write more, then I will. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK A good knock-knock joke: "Knock, knock." "Who''s there?" "American Firepower." "American Firepower who... OH SHIT!" https://youtu.be/1OJA8omj2Os Sabaton Panzer Battalion 0515 January 11th, 2020 CE 0637 (Mid Hour) Start 11th, 196 AE Midway to Andrea Mercator, Furius, and thirty other soldiers continue along a road that leads to Andrea. Mercator and Furius had met the other thirty soldiers along the way. These soldiers had also run like them when they had seen the giant bombers. Not far down the road, they see a soldier poking his head out of the forest that was adjacent to the road. The soldier shouts to them. Hey! Mercator, who is at the front of the group, replies. Hi, there! Are you soldiers from the front? Yes. Im Sergeant Mercator Cordus of the 106th Infantry Regiment. Where are you from? Im Private Kaeso Protus. With the 10th Tank Battalion. Kaeso looks up towards the sky before continuing to speak again. Quickly get off the road. They get off the road and continue into the forest. 10th Tank Battalion? We were supposed to arrive at the front yesterday but we got bombed. We had to divert into the forest to continue. Tanks arent good in forests but it was still manageable since the trees werent dense. What are you guys doing here from the front? The fronts gone. The naval fortifications, trench, and artillery have been bombed to oblivion. Were retreating to Andrea to try to establish communications with the headquarters. A look of surprise is seen on Kaesos face. Is this all the survivors from your sector? I only see about a platoon. Mercator shrugs as they come up to the tanks. There should be some more. I dont expect much. Most didnt get out in time. Kaseo sighs. Then theres no more reason to continue towards the front anymore. Yeah. By the way, I thought you said this was the 10th Tank Battalion. If I remember correctly, a tank battalion should consist of about 36 tanks." Kaeso smiles bitterly. Quite knowledgeable of you. We originally had three companies of tanks. We are the only ones left. 36 tanks turned into 12 in mere minutes. We heard a roar and saw the enemy planes fly overhead. Before we knew it, the two companies of our battalion in front of us exploded. Are you still going to continue towards the front? I have to report what you just told me to the commander. I will go find him now. Kaeso quickly runs off and leaves them to follow the Industro IIs. A few minutes later, the tanks stop. Kaeso comes back with a man in an officer uniform. Which one of you is the leader of this platoon? Mercator salutes. Im just a sergeant, sir. We are just disorganized retreaters. Just trying to establish contact with a superior officer. Since you are an officer, we will follow you. The officer looked at the retreaters before sighing and turning towards Mercator. I want you to lead them. Were turning back to Andrea. Kaeso, continue looking for anyone on the main road and dont forget to follow the tank noises. Yes, sir. 0620 January 11th, 2020 CE 0710 (Mid Hour) Start 11th, 196 AE FOB Dagger(Near Aginport) In the command center, there are computers everywhere as men work round the clock. Sir, we have located the source of the enemy biplanes. They seem to be taking off from these two airfields. In his hands is a folder containing a satellite map with red circles drawn on where he is pointing. Hm. They are very well camouflaged. That looks very like a part of a forest. We will need to strike those. Keep an eye out for more. A few minutes later A hundred or so miles off the Mach Imperium Thirty Tomahawk cruise missiles launch from Arleigh Burke destroyers and Ticonderoga cruisers. Fifteen heading in one direction and the other fifteen in a different direction. Less than an hour later Airmen have gathered around in a massive building to listen to their base commander speak. Listen up men! These are trying times for our great imperium. Our pathetic Navy has failed us and the Imperium. It''s time for the Air Corps to rise. We will not be an embarrassment like the Navy! The Emperor has ordered all of you to be the saviors of our nation. Do not disappoint him! Once we receive reports that the enemy has landed, all air units on this base will swarm the enemy. All other airfields will do the same. The fighters must protect the bombers at all costs. The success of this mission depends on the bombers. Those who fall will be remembered as heroes! Do not fear death! Understood?! Yes, Sir! Suddenly, the building shook violently. The sound of explosions resonates throughout the base. A person runs into the building. Enemy attack! Get to the planes! Airmen run out of the building in a disorganized hurry. Seconds later, more explosions resonate through the air. Then a shout of panic arose. The runway has been destroyed! We cant take off! Find cover! Find cover! A massive explosion sends shockwaves across the airfield. Something had hit the building where bombs had been stored. Man the AA guns! Find enemy planes! Thirty minutes later The base is burning brightly as fires rage. Black smoke billows to the sky. Sporadic explosions occur wherever the fires touch ammunition. 1202 January 11th, 2020 CE 1001 (Down Hour) Start 11th, 196 AE Anicium Castle A person in military uniform knocks on the door. A haggard voice replies. Come in. Whats the report? The voice came from a man who is looking at a map placed on a big table. Around the table, there are other men in uniform. The entering person saluted. Your majesty, we are suffering massive losses in our infrastructure and military installations. We have just lost two of our hidden airbases. They were the ones operating the patrols. How is the front? We lost communications with it. The last news we know is that the trench is fine but the artillery and naval fortifications are gone. Send more tanks and artillery. Get them from the reserves. Anywhere thats not vital on the Magus front. Understood. After the person exits, a heavy silence set in. 1932 January 11th, 2020 CE 0146 (New Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE A hundred miles off of the Mach Imperium Nick and his tank crew board their Abrams. Around them, crews of other tanks are standing around. The tanks are on an LCAC in the belly of the USS Kearsarge, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship. Around the Kearsarge, multiple other amphibious assault ships accompanied it. The seas had been completely cleared from the combined efforts of submarines and strike fighters. We will just be securing the landing area and nearby towns. The III Corps of the Army will do the actual push to the enemy capital. Brian looks curiously at Nick. Wont there be any heavy resistance? Like the beach landings of World War 2? The Air Force has been bombing them for six straight days. If they did their job right, dont expect much. If they didnt then we are in for a ride. 2000 January 11th, 2020 CE 0200 (Rise Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE Nick and his crew felt their tank wobble as waves hit the LCAC. Seems like the Air Force did their job. Brian looked at Uma questionably. Hm? What do you mean Connolly? No bombardments. I heard this country had World War 1 technology. They should have set up artillery or something to try to stop our landing. A few minutes later After the LCAC deflated and opened, their Abrams touched the sand of the Machian beach. Nick looks out of his tank. Wowie boys, the Air Force really did their job. A few miles in front of them, there are rubbles of what could be barely recognized as fortifications. Other tanks start forming up on the beach as more and more LCACs land. AAV7s come up from the sea and start disgorging Marines. Andrea Mercator, when do you think they will finally come? I dont know. Havent you asked that question multiple times already? Well, were stuck in another trench now. At least it''s in a town. Yeah, with no people around. With the arrival of what remained of the 10th Tank Battalion and survivors of the trench, the Machian forces that are in town are 12 tanks and around 100 infantry. Using the telegram, they have been able to establish contact with headquarters and learn that more reinforcements are coming. Of course, the reinforcements were ordered to go to the trenches but that idea was scrapped when the survivors reported the destruction of the trench line. Headquarters then ordered them to evacuate all civilians inside the town. Most civilians had complained but they had no actual ability to oppose it. 15 minutes later Road to Andrea Why are we advancing so slowly? Cant the lead tank pick this pace up? Connolly, this is a forested place. We have to be careful. Uma Connolly grumbles to that reply. Their platoon of four M1A1 Abrams had been tasked with securing a town close to the beaches. Four other platoons have been ordered to do the same for four other towns. These are all the towns within fifteen miles of the beach. 2044 January 11th, 2020 CE 0222 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE Andrea A soldier bursts out of the nearby forest shouting and running towards the officer. Captain! Captain! Enemies, enemies! They are moving slowly down the road! They will be here in minutes! Numbers? I could count many tanks about the size of our Industro 1s! Get to your positions men! We will hold out until our reinforcements arrive! Less than three miles away from Andrea The forested road is quite peaceful. Nothing had disturbed them or tried to stop them. Then the platoon leader came over the headset. <<>> The lead tank lurched back a bit after it sent a round flying towards the enemy trench. <<>> Andrea Mercator is peeking out of the window of the house. We are so lucky to be repositioned here. Furius is crouched underneath the window. Mercator, whats the situation outside there? The enemy tanks just blew up the trench at the entrance with a single shot. A few minutes later Multiple rounds ping off the sides of the four Abrams. Holy cow! Brian shouts in surprise as a couple of shots ping off their tank. <<>> The lead tank and Nicks tank swing their turrets right to aim at the enemy tanks. Using their thermals, they can see the enemy heat signatures in the forest. I have sights on one. Loaded. Sending. The small enemy light tank explodes in a fiery ball as the M830A1 HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) hits it. Back up, back up! Within mere seconds of the start of the tank battle, a third of their forces are already gone. The enemy has seemingly suffered no casualties. Their captain had come up with an ingenious plan to catch the enemy off guard. Instead of putting the tanks in the town to guard it, they can station the tanks inside the forest. This will allow them to launch a surprise ambush while the enemy comes up the road towards the town. Of course, this didnt account for the enemy being invulnerable to their guns. The tank crews in the surviving tanks start to panic. What kind of tank can ricochet multiple shots to its side? It is as if they were trying to shoot through a hundred millimeters of solid steel. To them this is ridiculous. Equipped with its classified Chobham armor, the armor all around the Abrams can be comparable to several hundred millimeters of steel. Chapter 19 – The Army Goes Rolling Along RonTheBlackCat This is probably the earliest I will ever post. This because a massive thunderstorm is headed my way and will last for the entire day. That means that I can''t access my computer since my mother doesn''t like it when I use electronics during a thunderstorm. (This means I had no time to edit this lol) Also, I just made a Patreon page. Go check it out! https://youtu.be/OkDYrCCmUIA Warrior Song Aquila Natus "The Abrams tank... 60 tons of get the fuck outta my way" - Me 2050 January 11th, 2020 CE 0225 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE A few miles out from Andrea While the Industro IIs try to retreat into the town, the Abrams quickly and efficiently destroy each one of them with 100% accuracy. The Industro IIs tried to return fire but their 40 mm can barely do anything. A few minutes later The charred remains of the twelve tanks sit in the forest as the four barely scratched Abrams make their way towards the town. Andrea Mercator looks through the window as the sand colored enemy tanks continue towards him. Furius, we are getting out of here. Our tanks are gone. Why are we abandoning our position? We dont have anything to go up against armor. They only had four tanks and they wiped our twelve out in mere minutes. Us infantry cant do anything against that. Come on now, Furius. I thought you liked running. 2054 January 11th, 2020 CE 0227 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE Andrea The platoon of Abrams stop in the town. Machian soldiers are seen further down the street hurrying out of the town. It seems like they are making a run for it. Dont shoot. Come on Nick, they are enemies. Dillian, no. Our job is just to make sure that no enemy soldiers approach. They can run away if they want. 2116 January 11th, 2020 CE 0238 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE A couple of miles from Andrea After getting a good distance away from Andrea, the surviving Machian soldiers stop to rest. Furius sighs and looks toward Mercator. Where are we even running to this time? We cant keep this going. Every time the enemy does something, the only thing we do is run. Our infantry regiment doesnt even exist anymore. We will link up with the reinforcements. We still have a company of infantry with us. They arent even part of ours. Cant we just go home? We have done our duty at the front and done it again in the town. All I want is to be home with my family and be there for my sisters wedding! The other men in their group, all ranked at or lower than corporal, start grumbling in agreement too. They all look towards Mercator, who is the highest-ranked out of them. Mercator sighs a bit. Listen, desertion is punishable by execution. If they catch Mercator is cut off by Furius. But we dont even have any assigned unit! They are all gone. Dont you see! This doesnt even count as desertion. It does, we are still soldiers. If they find us deserting, we WILL be executed! But have you seen what happened! Have you seen! Furius points towards Andrea. The enemy is impossible to beat! If we continue like this we are going to die! That isnt certain. But what I do know is that IF we desert, we WILL be executed! Thats guaranteed death! Furius, we are fighting this war to protect our families. The enemies are on our land. If we let them through, we will lose everything we hold dear. Our families. Our country. Even our lives! This war was started by the Emperor! It doesnt concern us commoners! It does! The enemy doesnt care who is who! As long as we are Machian, they will kill us! Furius and Mercator looked at each other tensely. A moment passed before Mercator sighed and turned towards everyone. Listen, everyone, I have no power to actually make you all stay. You can leave if you want. But hear this, the moment you leave is the moment that you are not my responsibility. If you are getting executed for desertion, it does not concern me. Those who want to stay, we will regroup with the reinforcements. A few men start to go their own ways. Most decide to stay. Furius, you going? Are you sure you dont want to come with me? That is desertion. I actually want to live. Mercator, for almost all my time in the military I have been with you. You are my best friend. I dont think we can live any longer if we continue like this. I really wish you reconsider. Furius stood there looking at Mercators determined eyes. A minute passes while both continue to stare at each other. Furius sighs. Ugh fine, I will stay with you. I just cant abandon you. Come on lets go. Mercator turns towards the others who havent left Everyone else staying with us? One of the men shouts. Yeah, we really cant go anywhere. Our homes are days away. 0300 January 12th, 2020 CE 0530 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE Andrea The Army is taking their damn sweet time getting here. We will be at the enemy capital by now if we didnt have to wait. Nick looks down from his open commander hatch at Uma Be patient, we dont have enough units to actually push deeper. The engineers are also setting up a FOB near the beaches so thats going to take time too. 0524 January 12th, 2020 CE 0642 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE In a village, Mercator, Furius, and the remaining soldiers rest. Cant we just commandeer their vehicles? For the hundreds time, no! Furius, we cant just steal their vehicles! Its not stealing, we are just borrowing them in the name of the Imperium. We will try to return them afterward. A no is a no. Oh come on. We have been walking for many hours already! Even more people have deserted. We still have a company of men. They havent all deserted. We are bound to run into the reinforcements soon. As of now, rest up, we will be walking again soon. 0612 January 12th, 2020 CE 0706 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE Andrea Finally, the Army is here. With the infantry taking up positions around the town, the crews can relax out of their tanks. Brian looked at the large amounts of units curiously. Wow, thats a lot of M1A2s. How did they even get here? I thought only the Marines had amphibious assault capabilities. Dillian, being the know all of the Iraq War, explains. Usually it requires the government hiring privately owned cargo ships. Im pretty sure we have enough extra cargo ships to transport the entire Army here. Most American cargo ships became useless after being transported to this world. The only thing they can be used for now is transporting heavy stuff around the United State. Brian looks towards Nick after nodding. Sergeant, what are we going to be doing now? We will be following them. Its a nonstop road trip to the enemy capital boys! 0716 January 12th, 2020 CE 0738 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE Mercator, Furius, and the company of soldiers approach the next town. They notice tanks and infantry streaming out of the town. Finally, reinforcements! Having walked nearly 20 miles, they could only stagger towards their destination. The convoy stopped in front of them. Towards the back, an officer steps out of his vehicle and approaches them. Halt! Identify yourselves! Mercator breathes out his reply Sergeant Mercator Cordus of the 106th Infantry Regiment. We came from Andrea. Captain Brusus Sura. Were you the ones who reported the situation at the front? Yes. I thought you guys were instructed to stay put. The soldier looked towards Mercator and his group. Wheres the 10th Tank Battalion? We got attacked. The 10th Tank Battalion got destroyed at Andrea. Air attack? No, the enemy has landed. Is this all the survivors? Yes. Can we have a rest, sir? We have been walking for many hours and we are tired. Sure. I will have to inform the Major General. A few minutes later The Captain followed by what seemed to be the Major General headed towards Mercator. Mercator stood and saluted at them. At ease. Sergeant, what were the enemy numbers? I saw four tanks. Four tanks? I thought the 10th Tank Battalion still had twelve. How did twelve lose to four? The enemy tanks are much better than ours. When the 10th Tank Battalion tried to engage the enemys four tanks, the 10th Tank Battalion was destroyed in a matter of minutes. It didnt even seem like our tanks did any damage. We had to retreat after the enemy started focusing fire on us. Did the enemies not give chase? No, they stayed put in Andrea. The Major General nodded. Are your men still able to fight? These arent my men seeing that we are just scattered survivors from the various infantry regiments from the front. But can they continue to fight? At our current condition, we cant walk anymore. Some of us dont even have our guns. We will give you some of the extra weapons and you can ride on the Industro Is. Understood, sir! Thank you, sir! The Machian 6th Army Division consisting of infantry, Industro Is, Industro IIs, and horse-drawn artillery continues down the road. 0808 January 12th, 2020 CE 0804 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE Malaca Hidden Airfield We got orders. The bombers need to be dispatched to Andrea and the beach near it. The enemies finally landed? Yep. The base comes alive as ground crews start loading the bombers. Less than 30 minutes later V formation of bombers and their fighter escorts take to the sky. In another base, the same thing happens. In the skies above the landing area In an E-2 Hawkeye, launched from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a radar operator is staring at a radar screen. Holy cow is his response when hundreds of dots start lighting up on the screen. USS George Washington The radar on the Hawkeye is data linked to the ships in the Carrier Strike Groups. Uh, Admiral, you have to see this The Vice-Admiral looks at the screen of the radar operator on the ship. Get the Super Hornets in the air. 15 minutes later Four squadrons of Super Hornets, 44 in total, cruise through the skies towards the horde of enemy aircraft. The Super Hornets burst out of the clouds and into the view of a hundred biplane fighters and bombers. Fox Two! Fox Two! AIM-9X Sidewinders launch from the wings of the F/A-18s towards the cloud of enemies. The Maximils biplane fighters speed up in front of the bombers. For the Imperium! Moments later, explosions occur as the missiles hit the wall of Maximils. Bits of wood, cloth, and metal drop out of the sky as the Maximils formations are decimated. As the Super Hornets get closer, a hail of bullets is unleashed from each of their 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan, a Gatling-style rotary cannon. The hail of bullets cut down any of the biplanes in its way like a knife slicing through butter. The biplane fighters try to return fire by firing their twin mounted AG-2 machine guns but they couldnt aim fast enough as the enemy planes fly past them at speeds of up to 777 mph. One of the Super Hornets wings accidentally hits the wing of a Maximils. The biplanes wing, made out of cloth and wood, is instantly ripped and the biplane is sent spiraling into the ground. The Super Hornets wing, on the other hand, is completely fine. The remaining Maximils try to turn around in order to continue engaging the Super Hornets and protect their bombers but the Super Hornets are already coming around to engage them again. The biplanes are cut apart as the Super Hornets wreak havoc everywhere in the Machian formations. The biplane bombers try to break off in order to escape but are shot down as the Super Hornets zoom past them. A few minutes later Inside one of the Super Hornets All hostiles are down. We are returning to home plate. Chapter 20 – Battle of the Eastern Plains RonTheBlackCat "If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn''t plan your mission properly." - David Hackworth Battle Cry of Freedom https://youtu.be/bW4ZwyYJYbQ Discord https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0740 January 12th, 2020 CE 0750 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE Near the town of Isca Pomponia looks out of her houses window as sand-colored tanks rumbled across. The first wave is the big tanks and then came the smaller ones. They have no semblance to the Machian tanks she had seen in the newspapers. It was clear whose tank those belonged to. Albeit a bit worried, she is glad that they seem to have ignored her lone house in the plains. About an hour earlier, she was in the town of Isca when soldiers who were retreating from the trenches came. They had said that all the Machian units on the front have been destroyed and warned the townsfolk of the possibility of the enemies coming through. It was just yesterday that some people from Andrea came to find their relatives or pass through. They had said that the soldiers claimed that the frontline defenses were destroyed and that the soldiers had to use the town as a last line of defense. Pomponia returns to drinking her tea after watching the scene for a bit. She wasnt that concerned about what happened to the Mach Imperium. As long as she can continue to live her secluded lifestyle, she will be content. 0820 January 12th, 2020 CE 0810 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE The eastern plains of the Mach Imperium The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, part of the 1st Armored Division of the III Corps of the US Army, is the spearhead leading the charge for the III Corps and the 2nd Marine Division. The 1st ABCT consisted of their Headquarters and Headquarter Company; the 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment; the 2nd Battalion, 27th Armor Regiment; the 4th Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment; the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment; the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment; the 16th Brigade Engineer Battalion; and the 501st Brigade Support Battalion. This consisted of M1A2 Abrams, M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicles, M109A6 Paladin 155mm Howitzers, Humvees, M113 derived support vehicles, and various types of trucks. Attached to them is the II Marine Expeditionary Force is a platoon from the 2nd Tank Battalion. After driving out of Andrea, they have quickly exited the forested area and into a wide-open plain. They have passed many towns but they were void of enemies. Only civilians were there. The platoon from the 2nd Tank Battalion of the Marines followed a tank company from the 2nd Battalion, 27th Armor Regiment as a forward element for the 1st ABCT. The tank company with its attached Marines tank platoon, which will total 18 tanks, is many miles ahead of the 1st ABCT. OORAH! Uma is having the time of his life driving at full speed down the plains. The Abrams isnt exactly fast with only a maximum offroad speed of 30 mph but it still is a nice experience. 5 miles away Sitting on top of the Industro 1 as it thunders forward on the plains, Furius groans and looks toward the sky. This is much better. Im never walking for that long ever again. Say, Mercator, when do you think we will ever get home? Heard the railroads are all gone because of the enemy bombings. Where did you live again? My town is quite close to the center of the Imperium. The nearest city is probably Burdi. You will probably miss your sisters wedding now. Nothing I can do at this point. Would have loved to be there. Well, they might postpone it because of the war. Anyways, do you think we will win this war? Im not sure, the enemy bombings have been slacking off but their ground units are here. If we can push them back to the sea, we will win. We will probably encounter them along the way to Andrea and then hopefully push them back. A few minutes later A soldier on a horse is quickly riding through the plains. He approaches the formations of men and tanks marching towards him and rides to an officer. Sir, Im with the recon group. Theres an enemy formation approaching us! Numbers and composition? I could see more than ten tanks, sir! They are about the size of our Industro Is but have the speed comparable to that of a horse. An officer shouts orders as men run around with shovels. Quickly! Get the tanks up to the front! A small enemy contingent will be here soon. Mercator, Furius, and a lot of other soldiers are digging a small mound to act as cover. The flat plains are not good terrain when you dont want to be out in the open. How did they get here so quickly? Dont worry, just keep digging, Furius. Its a small number of tanks compared with the hundreds that we have, there''s no way we will lose. 0828 January 12th, 2020 CE 0814 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE What seemed to be a long small mound in the middle of the plains appears in their view. Of course, this wont concern anyone in the tank company and the attached Marine tank platoon if not for the fact that there are multiple enemy tanks scattered behind it. The Captain of the company comes through on the radio. <<< Multiple hostiles to the front. Fire at will. Continue moving forward.>>> The twin 57 mm of the Industro Is open fire as the battalion of Abrams charge headfirst towards them. Connolly shouts out while looking through his driver port. What the heck?! Do their guns outrange ours? Sure they might have more range but their accuracy is complete shit. replies Dillion as explosions occur around them Also, I dont think they can even pen the armor on our tank. Just as he says it, some lucky shots explode on the nearby Abrams but do no damage. Rumbling across the plains, the Abrams gets the enemy tanks within the range of the Abrams 120 mm. I got my sights on one in range, do I fire? For god sakes, Dillian, fire! Whilst charging straight at the Machian lines, the group of Abrams focus their fire on the Machian tanks. HEAT rounds create fiery explosions upon impact with the Machian tanks. The Industro IIs with their 40 mm gun are sitting ducks and cant return fire because of the shorter range of their guns as compared to the older Industro Is. Their maximum of 22 mm of armor, although better than the Industro 1s maximum of 16 mm, also doesnt help. The M830A1 HEAT round of the Abrams can penetrate up to 420 mm of steel. Shells from the 57 mm of the Industro IIs fly towards the Abrams but their inaccuracy and inability to go through the Abrams armor make the effort futile. Less than 10 minutes later Still having no Abrams destroyed or even disabled, they continue getting closer while firing upon the enemy. Even after getting hit multiple times, the Abrams tanks just shrug everything off. On the other hand, the Machians are losing one tank for every second that goes by. The two hundred Industro Is and IIs have been whittled down to half their numbers. As the Abrams get closer to the mound, the front Abrams notices movement and heat signatures behind the mounds. <<< Enemy infantry behind the mounds!>>> A few more minutes later With his head nearly kissing the ground, Furius looks to his left as bullets whiz past above him. To the left of him is the Captain they had talked to when they had encountered the reinforcements. Captain, what do we do?!? Our tanks are useless and we are pinned! The Captain lifts his head to answer Furius. We will have to u The Captain couldnt finish the sentence as a 7.62 mm bullet enters his head and comes out the other side. The Captains head falls lifelessly onto the ground. Blood splatters across Furiuss face. Ah..ah Furius turns toward Mercator and Mercator notices the shock in Furiuss eyes. Furius! Calm down! Keep your head low! An enemy tank crests the mound and comes down crushing those who were below it. I want to live. I want to live. I want to live. Furius is shaking uncontrollably in fear. Mercator has his face hugging the ground. Just keep calm. Keep your head down. 0850 January 12th, 2020 CE 0825 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE At this point, the morale of the Machian 6th Army Division broke. Retreat! Get outta here! Those shouts can be heard from those that took up positions behind them. Machian soldiers stood up and broke into a run. Machine-gun fire is all around them. The few remaining Machian tanks also start backing up. They were also subjected to heavy fire. Still lying on the ground, Furius panics. Mercator, what do we do?! Their fire doesnt seem to be focusing on us. Mercator raises his head a little. We should run. Mercator and Furius quickly get off the ground and start sprinting. Some bullets still whiz past them. An Industro II explodes a few hundred feet behind them. Agh! Furius looks behind him to see that Mercator has fallen onto the ground. Mercator! Furius runs back to Mercator and extends a hand to help. I got you! Come on get up! I cant! Something hit my leg! Just just go! Wait, what are you doing?! Furius grabs Mercator. I wont leave you behind! Didnt I say I couldnt abandon you! With Mercator on his back, Furius starts sprinting out of the kill zone. More than ten minutes later <<>> The battlefield became quiet as the machine gun and tank fire from the Abrams stops. Across the plains, Machian soldiers stand up with their hands in the air. Brian looks out of the tank hatch and whistles Wow, this is a lot of prisoners. What are we going to do with them? We still have to get to the capital but we cant leave them behind. Nick watches as the Machian soldiers throw down their rifles. We are going to link up with the rest of the 1st ABCT. They have space for prisoners. A few minutes later Mercator, are you alright? Yeah Yeah Im fine. Furius had sprinted quite far from the battle. He feels something trickling down the back of his pants. Im going to need to set you down and check on that wound. Further down, Furius sees a group of Machian soldiers lying on the ground near some sparse trees. There seem to be people tending to the wounded. Furius runs to them and sets Mercator down near one of the trees. There is a massive gash on the back of Mercators left leg. Something like shrapnel had ripped his legs. An expanding blood pool starts to form on the ground from that wound. Medic! Medic! Is there a medic here? A soldier comes running to them. Im a medic. Whats the problem? My friend hes been hit with something on the back of his leg and and hes losing a lot of blood! Rip a piece of cloth and put it on the wound. Apply pressure to it. I still have to tend to some of the more heavily wounded. The medic then went off. In the first major land battle between the Mach Imperium and the United States of America, the Machian 6th Army division was nearly wiped out by the 2nd Battalion, 27th Regiment of the Army and its attached platoon of tanks from the 2nd Tank Battalion of the Marines in less than an hour. 18 American tanks victoriously contended with 200 Machian tanks and 9,000 Machian infantry. Out of the 200 Machian tanks, only 30 survived the battle. Out of the 9,000 Machian infantry, around 4,000 had died and 3,000 were captured. Chapter 21 – To The Capital! RonTheBlackCat Retreat? Hell, we just got here! Marine Captain Lloyd Williams, answering a messenger from the French Commander as Marines arrive at the Belleau Wood sector in WWI. Bring On The Thunder https://youtu.be/in8pgvJfM28 Discord https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0930 January 12th, 2020 CE 0845 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE The eastern plains of the Mach Imperium We will continue advancing towards the enemy capital tomorrow. Although we will be closer to the brigade this time. That was a large number of enemies. After telling his crew, Nick looks down from his commanders hatch at the turret of their Abrams. There are some scorch marks from the fire that it had sustained. God bless depleted uranium. I wonder why they even put it into the armor, Brian asks curiously. Probably because it works as armor. An American soldier who knows how to speak Latin is currently talking with what appears to be the most highly ranked of the Machians. After a bit of talking, the surrendering Machians seem to be thankful for some reason. Furius walks while carrying Mercator on his back. Mercator had been treated by the medic and is somewhat fine now. Of course, he cant walk and probably still requires more treatment but that didnt really matter to Furius. At least Mercator is still alive. Now, what are we going to do at this point? You cant even walk anymore! The Mach Imperium is done for Well, you can say that again. There weren''t even more than 20 enemy tanks. They decimated an entire division backed with hundreds of tanks in less than an hour by themselves. Theres nothing we can do against that. Im just going to go home. What about you? Where did you live anyways? In the capital. Huh. Oh yeah, you told me about that. Well, thats not going to be a good place to stay during this time. You dont have any close relatives right? Yep. Why dont you come over to where I live and stay for a bit. We have space. You might even be able to attend my sisters wedding. Mercator chuckles a bit. Do you even know how we are going to get there? Its hundreds of miles from here. How about we borrow a car? Again, Furius, no. We are not stealing. Oh come on. Then you got any better ideas? You cant walk with that bad of an injury and Im definitely not carrying you all the way there. Actually I need to get you to an actual doctor first. Lets go find the nearest town then. Not on this road. Im afraid the Americans will find us. 0940 January 12th, 2020 CE Tampa, Florida General, heres the report from the first major battle General Thompson reviews the report that had been handed to him by his aide. Excellent, this is a guaranteed victory. Hell, we may even come out with zero casualties. Thats not something you hear every day. 1520 January 12th, 2020 CE 1140 (Late Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE Anicium Castle, Mach Imperium The 6th Army Division had been destroyed in a battle in the Eastern Plains. Emperor Industros slams his fist on the table. What is left of the 6th Division? From what reports we could gather not much. An optimistic estimate would be around 2,000 infantry and 50 or so tanks. Do we know the enemy numbers? No more than 20 tanks. Twenty!?! Even we didnt believe it at first but all the survivors we could get a report from had claimed less than 20 tanks. Again, the Emperor slams his fist on the table but this time with more force. He looks up and shakes a finger towards his commander that is in charge of the front against the Americans. I know what you are trying to do! You just dont want to make yourselves look bad by losing to the enemy! Um... what, your majesty? SILENCE! After a short burst of anger, the Emperor then goes a bit quiet. You cant possibly lose if we send entire armies from the Magusian front to yours. The commander in charge of the front against the Magusians stands up in an instant from his chair. Your majesty! We cant possibly do that! The moment that front is gone, the Magusians will flood in and we will be faced with a two-front war! The Emperor glares at him. Dont you see! If we dont do anything, the capital will fall into enemy hands! But what will we do if the Magusians attack?! Then only half of the forces from the Mach-Magus front will be sent to the front against the Americans. Halve the forces?!? Thats ridiculous! If we halve the forces, we wont have enough men to sufficiently guard the entire front. We will be abandoning the eastern half of the Mach-Magus front. That part is not important anymore with the Americans closing in on our capital. The Emperor then turns towards the commander in charge of the front against the Americans. In a stern and slow voice, the Emperor commands him. That should be more than half a million soldiers supported by hundreds of tanks. Use these soldiers and tanks as you see fit. Stop the Americans at whatever cost. If you dont The Emperor stops there while staring at him ominously. Understood, your majesty. 2320 January 12th, 2020 CE 0340 (Early Hour) Start 13th, 196 AE Mach-Magus Front In the eastern portion of the Mach-Magus front, Magusian soldiers peek out from their trenches after noticing the silence on the other side. To their surprise, there is no sign of life from the Machian side. Unknown to them, the Machian had secretly retreated yesterday night in the cover of the dark. 0020 January 13th, 2020 CE 0310 (Early Hour) Start 13th, 196 AE In the throne room of the Emperor of Magus Imperium. When the news of the retreat of Machian soldiers from the eastern Mach-Magus front last night reached Emperor Arstant, he immediately called for a meeting to ask Caius again to begin the offensive. Your majesty, with the withdrawal of Machian soldiers on the eastern front, we shall begin the offensive. Finally, we could have begun much earlier but you just had to wait. Your majesty, it is better to wait to have a perfect plan. Even if it takes years to develop, a perfect plan will guarantee success. What does having a perfect plan have anything to do with this situation? That is a piece of common knowledge in war strategy. It basically means be patient in war. It is never a good idea in a war to take the initiative. Always wait for the enemy to act. Now that the enemy is acting, we can take advantage of it. Emperor Arstant sighs. Igennus, just begin the offensive. 0140 January 13th, 2020 CE 0450 (Early Hour) Start 13th, 196 AE Mach-Magus Front Across the Eastern Magusian trench line, Magusian officers blow their whistles to signal the beginning of the offensive. Magusian soldiers crest the trench lines whilst accompanied by their magitanks. Magitanks are tanks with special engines. Magitank engines accept both normal fuel and mana given to them by a person. Of course, fuel has an advantage seeing that the mana pool of an average person isnt that big. On the other hand, if a Great Magus is the person fueling the tank, then the tank can run for a longer time than using fuel. However, Great Maguses would never be in the position of a lowly soldier because they are extremely valuable. Some of the Magusian infantry are carrying guns while some are not. The ones that are carrying guns have an average amount of mana. The ones that arent are the ones that have enough mana to use the elements as weapons. The Machian soldiers and their Magitanks quickly approach the opposing trench without taking any fire. The Magusians slide into the enemy trench to find it completely deserted. The Machians have finally left after 35 years. It felt strange. For 35 years, the Machians and them have been sitting across from each other just waiting for the other to strike. Now just in one night, their enemies left. After a few minutes, an officer among them yells while blowing his whistle. Dont stop! Continue men! It''s time to take back the land that was ours in the first place! CHARGE! YAAAAAAAA. This time the Magusian soldiers crest the Machain trench and Magusian magitanks drive onward. The eastern plains of the Mach Imperium Tearing through the plains, the 1st ABCT makes massive gains. Dillion sighs. Its quite peaceful. No enemies at all. They have only come up to abandoned enemy tanks and surrendering infantry. Connolly, while focused on driving, comments on that. That wasnt many enemy soldiers. I thought you said there were millions of them, Brian? I didnt factor in the fact that their war strategy is very outdated when compared to ours. Anyways, I have not slept a wink. When are we going to get there?! Nick laughs a bit. Well Connolly, I''m pretty sure it''s still more than a couple of days away. 0220 January 13th, 2020 CE 0510 (Early Hour) Start 13th, 196 AE Anicium Castle, Mach Imperium The commander against the Magusians salutes the Emperor as he comes in. Your majesty, we are getting reports of large amounts of Magusian soldiers, magitanks, and wyverns on our side of the eastern border. I believe they have begun their invasion. How is the western portion? They are being bombarded by artillery and dragon attacks but are holding up. Send the Great Western Fleet to that area. We have to make sure that they dont break through it. Emperor Industros looks down on the map that was on the table. He uses a pencil to trace a line on the Mach Imperium. This is where we will stop them. Right on the outskirts of the capital. But sir, wont the Americans get there before us? Ah that might be true, but we still have a considerable force stationed in the capital. They should be fortifying the capital. The forces will hold out in the capital until reinforcements get there. After reinforcements, we can establish a large trench network on this line to ensure that they dont break through on any sides. The Americans would also probably need time to get to the capital. Im expecting them to arrive in a week or more so that should also give us more time. The 1st ABCT has traveled through some towns, sweeping them for hostiles and asking the civilians if they had seen any Machian military movement. The civilians always seem to comply out of fear. So far, there have been no signs of any Machian military activity ever since the last battle. 0025 January 17th, 2020 CE 0412 (Early Hour) Start 17th, 196 AE A few miles from the outskirts of Industropolis There was absolutely no opposition along the way to the Machian capital after the first major battle. It was surprising to the 1st ABCT because they had expected much more Machian counterattacks. It seemed as if the Machians have only focused on static defense. The battle the 1st ABCT had experienced was probably just the Machians accidentally running into them. Far in the distance, the 1st ABCT can see some of the tall skyscrapers of Industropolis. Brian made a comment after he noticed the skyscrapers That building looks like it belongs in a picture in a history textbook of New York City in the early 1900s. It really does. Nick coughs a bit. Alright boys, be ready. Although no one attacked us along the way, we are still expecting some resistance near the city. We are hoping theres nothing but this is their capital city. They wont leave it undefended. So keep your eyes open for any possible ambushes. So when are we assaulting the city? We will have to wait until the rest of the 2nd Marine Division and the 1st Armored Division of the III Corps get here. Shouldnt be much time. Simple trenches ran through the outskirts of their capital. Industro Is are scattered around them to act as support for the infantry. The garrison consists of an infantry regiment of 1,000 men and 30 old tanks retired from the main army. Commander! The enemies are nearing! They have stopped not far from here, sir! Chapter 22 – End Of An Imperium RonTheBlackCat Sorry for the one day delay, a severe thunderstorm yesterday knocked out my power for 20 hours. Shout out to EliteCreature for posting my discord message to the comment section yesterday. I can''t thank him enough. I don''t like leaving my readers in the dark about my situation. Discord https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 "We have met the enemy and they are ours." - Oliver Hazard Perry (After a stunning American victory against the British Navy on Lake Erie during the War of 1812) https://youtu.be/nLr-SQHFuJ8 When Johnny Comes Marching Home 0102 January 17th, 2020 CE 0435 (Early Hour) Start 17th, 196 AE Anicium Castle, Mach Imperium The commander of the front against the Americans is giving Emperor Industros a report of the situation. Your majesty. The garrison forces at Industropolis have reported sightings of the enemy army. This early?! Are those the twenty tanks that defeated the 6th? No, your majesty. Its a much larger force. It seems to consist of many tanks and other vehicles. How far away are the reinforcements!? Because the railways were bombed by the enemy, they are still many days away. What about the Air Corps! Cant they do something?! Anything? No, sir. Dont you remember? Nearly our entire remaining aircraft were shot out of the sky when you ordered an aerial all-out assault of the enemy landing forces. The garrison can hold right? ... its questionable I think we will have to retr... Questionable? The garrison has to hold! Its my city! But your ma TELL ME THE GARRISON WILL HOLD! But NO BUTS. THE GARRISON HAS TO HOLD! If it doesnt, your heads are going off! UNDERSTOOD!? NOW TELL ME! Will the garrison hold? Um yes, your majesty, the garrison will hold. 0320 January 17th, 2020 CE 0540 (Early Hour) Start 17th, 196 AE Outskirts of Industropolis The garrison soldiers of Industropolis sit in their hastily dug trenches waiting for the enemy. One of the soldiers hears something like a plane in the sky. He looks up and sees a weird looking plane coming towards the ground. Hm? Whats that? Dirt flies into the air in arcs as bullets hit the ground in a straight line. Soldiers in that line are cut apart. Tanks fare no better as the bullets penetrate their thinly armored top. The crews inside suffer a similar fate to the soldiers outside. BRRRRRRRRTTT A few miles from the outskirts of Industropolis An A-10 Warthog flies overhead after unleashing a hail of bullets from its 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon upon the Machian trenches. Ah, music to my ears. Seems like the Air Force will soften them up a bit before we go in. Quite nice of the Machians to build their defenses away from the civilians. The 2nd Marine Division and 1st Armored Division waits on the far outskirts of the city for the Air Force to finish laying waste to the Machian defenses. After the initial few days of the aerial campaign, the Air Force had quickly run out of targets on the ground. With the Machian garrison in Industropolis setting up an easily seen trench outside of the city, it is a perfect target for bombings. Industropolis Sounds of loud explosions from the defenses can be heard throughout the city. In a small, rundown apartment, a child walks up to her mother. Mother? We will be fine. RIght? Everything will be alright dear. Theres nothing to worry about. Contrary to her words, there is a tone of uncertainty. Quite a lot of Industropolitans had fled the city after the palace was destroyed. Those that had stayed were the ones who didnt have relatives outside of the city, were poor, or believed that their country will be victorious in the end. Just recently, news had broke that the Americans, the enemy, had landed on the eastern beaches. Aurelia Quatrua and her 10-year-old son, Proculus, were too poor to be able to leave the city. Aurelias husband, Galerius, had died a few years ago to illness leaving her alone to raise their child. A week ago, the remaining residents had witnessed the soldiers of the Industropolis garrison going towards the outskirts of the city and setting up defenses. It was clear that the enemy was near. Now the explosions from the defenses signaled the start of the enemys attack. 0320 January 17th, 2020 CE 0540 (Early Hour) Start 17th, 196 AE The explosions outside of the city stop as abruptly as it had begun. Did we win, mother? Can I go out now? I want to play with other children. Im sure we did. But stay in just in case. But ma. Aurelia is smiling but there is worry underneath it. 0220 January 17th, 2020 CE 0510 (Early Hour) Start 17th, 196 AE Anicium Castle, Mach Imperium Military officers including the commanders of the two fronts look at each grimly in the meeting room of the Anicum castle. I dont think the capital will hold. With the Americans already assaulting the capital and our reinforcements still days away, it''s impossible. We arent going to win, are we?" Looking at the speed of the American advance, we will have to pull back our troops all the way here. The military officials trace a line with his finger on the map. Thats giving up half of the country. Even if we give up half of the country, will we even be able to push them back? Our Air Corps are all but destroyed. Even if we had any spare planes, they would be shot out of the sky within mere minutes. From what our reports indicate, it is highly possible that American aerial weapons greatly outrange ours. Moreover, from observation, their aircraft are much faster than ours. Theres nothing our aircraft can do against theirs. How is that even possible? They could be using magic but there is no known magic that can do that. Besides, hundreds of our tanks cant even fight back against just ten of theirs. From what survivors of the 6th are saying, hundreds of rounds from the Industro Is and IIs dont even leave a scratch on the enemy tanks. On the other hand, the enemy tanks can destroy ours in just one shot. We have to surrender. The Emperor will not agree. We may even be executed for trying to tell him to surrender. He has gone insane. Theres nothing we can do. A short silence fills the room. Theres only one way out of this isnt there? Regretfully so. The commander in charge of the front against the Americans grabs a pistol Less than 10 minutes later Emperor Industros enters the meeting room after being called there by a messenger of the commander of the front against the Americans. What is it? I hope this is good news. The garrison has repelled the Americans? Your majesty Multiple military officials grab the Emperor. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!!?! UNHAND ME! Your majesty, please stop resisting. I am the emperor of this country! You DARE attack me?! Guards! Two guards enter the room. The commander pulls out his pistol and places it at the Emperors head. The Emperors eyes widened in fear. If you dont want the Emperor to die, do as we say. Drop your weapons. The guards, part of a company of infantry that has sworn absolute loyalty to the Emperor and follow him everywhere, immediately drop their weapons. They have also sworn to protect the Emperor at all costs. The Emperor starts to be enraged. FOOLS! Wise decision. Now get out of the room. If we detect any attempts at rescuing the Emperor, he will die. The commander of the front against the Americans turns back to the Emperor after the guards quickly exit and close the door Your majesty, we have lost the war. We will be announcing our surrender to the Americans soon. This is treason! Treason! You wont get away with this! My guards will be back! You will regret this! At this point, the Emperor was just spitting out random threats. Gag him. Hey! Whamofufofumofu. 0320 January 17th, 2020 CE 0540 (Early Hour) Start 17th, 196 AE Outskirts of Industropolis The 2nd Marines and 1st Armored start moving into the city. The outskirt defenses are dotted with craters and destroyed tanks. The civilians that had come to view the battle quickly went back into their homes. A few minutes later Industropolis A convoy of Abrams enters the city and heads directly towards the bombed palace. The convoy passes many houses that have civilians peeking out. The streets are empty. A few miles into the city, a lone figure walks towards the convoy. The convoy comes to a stop. A Machian soldier holding a white flag in the air advances down the street towards the lead Abrams. The tank commander of the lead Abrams gets on his radio. <<>> I am a messenger of the garrison commander of Industropolis. We are offering our surrender. Furthermore, our commander has received a report that our country is willing to negotiate. Humvees, Bradleys, and Abrams enter the city after the surrender. The streets are empty since civilians are still wary of going outside. Aurelia and her son, Proculus, look out of the window of their apartment. Down on the streets, sand-colored vehicles appear in a straight line. Mother! Look! What are those? Sergeant, you really should get back in the tank. Theres nothing to worry about Brian, I just want to look around. I heard that the Machians are surrendering now. Hm. This kind of seems like Manhattan except with older architecture. The commander hatch is open and Nick is taking a gander at the 20th-century style city. Anicium Castle, Mach Imperium Was this the right choice? Surrendering to the Americans? Mmmofufmmmmomomofu! What else? Surrender to the Magus? They arent going to let us off. We are hoping that the Americans treat us better than the Magus. MM...mmm! But what if they dont? nmnmmmfffmm. Theres nothing we can do at this point. We still have to announce our surrender to the Magusians. However, the Americans will hopefully dictate most of the terms seeing that they captured Industropolis. We lost and thats that. The military officials are having a conversation in the meeting room amidst the Emperor screaming through a piece of cloth that was stuffed in his mouth. The Emperor was tied up, gagged, and placed in a chair in the corner of the room. Western Mach-Magus front The artillery on the western Mach-Magus front fell silent as an order of ceasefire was given on the Machain side. The Mach had telegraphed a surrender and asked for negotiations. 0742 January 17th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. President Hayes had eaten breakfast and was getting to his office. An aide runs up to him. Mr.President, great news! What is it? The Machian capital has fallen and they are opening up for negotiations! Mission accomplished then. I need to get on the phone to Thompson. <<>> <<>> <<>> <<>> Mach Imperium News spread throughout the Mach Imperium about the surrender of their country. Many are in despair and fear over the loss of their country to the Americans. However, more fear of what would happen if the Americans decided to allow the Magusians to dictate the terms. They know that the Magusians would be extremely harsh to them. Near the town of Isca Pomponia sits on a chair in her house while drinking her afternoon tea. During her trip to town, she had heard of the news of the surrender of her country but she didnt care one bit. She wondered about how her father was doing. That old man got what was coming to him. I hope this wont concern me. She thinks of this while stirring her tea. Chapter 23 Part 1 – New Threats? RonTheBlackCat All future releases until June 7th will be half chapters. I''m sorry I have to do this but I have to get ready for my upcoming online tests (that I kinda need to pass cause you know... kinda need good grades for my future). It is better than what I had origianlly decided. I originally thought about stopping releases until June 7th but decided against this idea. Also, I probably won''t be able to answer any comments until June 7th cause I will be busy studying. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a release ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty." - President John F. Kennedy https://youtu.be/bRODU-5EDGU Burn it to the Ground Nickelback 1859 January 17th, 2020 CE Nashville, Tennessee Jack flops down onto his couch after another day of work at his office. He grabs the remote and flicks on the TV just in time for the 7 oclock news. <<< ... live at seven. Just today, President Hayes had announced an American victory against the Mach Imperium and that negotiations were underway. This comes just a few months after the victory against the Bem Kingdom. In both conflicts, American forces have taken supposedly zero casualties. In his address to the nation, President Hayes claims that this war is one of the most successful wars ever fought in American history. However, with the memory of the Iraq War still fresh, many Americans are doubtful that this is the true end to the war.>>> Jack quickly gets bored and switches the channel to look for other more interesting shows. Life doesnt feel much different from before. Except for the decrease in a variety of produce and some minor problems early on like a decrease in manufactured products, not much change was felt. A ridiculous thing is that some are calling the fact that the United States was transported to another world a hoax. Claiming that it is a government conspiracy to cut Americans off from the rest of the world. They believe that the government employed a special technology to do so and that current events are being made up. 0110 January 25th, 2020 CE 0335 (Early Hour) Start 25th, 196 AE Aginport, Bem Kingdom A sand-colored vehicle moves down a busy Bem street. Some Bems gaze at the vehicle for a little while before reverting back to what they were doing. They were interested in what a car or a horseless carriage as it is commonly called by the Bem, looked like. A few months ago, a lot of people would come out just to watch the cars pass by. However, now, most have gotten used to the cars that conduct patrols to keep order. In a bar on that busy street, two men look out the window to see the American vehicle pass through. I can see why we lost. They are on the same level as the Machians. Maybe even better. News has been going around that the Machians have been defeated. Is that so? Well, either way, our kingdom stood no chance. At least they seem more helpful than the Machians. And hey, they dont seem to be forcing us to fight their wars or anything. I cant believe Im saying this but the future may brighter than before. Yep. I heard from one of my friends who works in hospitals that the Americans are giving us some technology that would really improve our lives. The Machians would never do something like that. They only gave us the bare minimum and even demanded tribute. It has been many months since the invasion of Bem conducted by the Americans. Not much on the surface has changed. A distant relative of the King has been placed into power by the Americans. To the general populace, the new king seems to be merely another puppet under another powerful nation. However, there are good signs, the Americans seem to be willing to help with the development of Bem, unlike the Machians who gave them just bones. Medical technology and methods have been shared. Improvements in agriculture and infrastructure have also been provided. The Americans also seem to be interested in trades for food products and some of the raw resources that Bem has. 0826 January 25th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. Mr.President, the goodwill operations in the Bem are going great. The populace doesnt seem to be hostile to our forces. Chief of Staff John Wills is giving President Haye a brief report about the current situation after winning the war. Thats good to hear. What about the Mach? Negotiations have gone quite well. The Machian military officials are willing to surrender to our terms. Which includes us occupying their country for a couple of years, having a government under our supervision, and constructing military bases on their land. They havent demanded much. They seem to like the fact that we arent enslaving them or demanding any payment or tribute from them. However, they do seem adamant about keeping their government mostly the same. President Hayes smiles lightly at that report. Thats great! Almost too good to be true! We do have two minor problems. The smile instantly drops from his face. Oh boy why did I say that First of all, it seems that the Machian Emperor has decided to abdicate. In this circumstance, we would have had one of his children take over but they are too young to take the throne. Are there any relatives that can take the throne? Well... the military officials did tell us that the Machian Emperor had an illegitimate adult daughter that is living near the town of Isca. We could probably place her on the throne. Although we do have to find here first. That doesnt seem to be much of a problem. Whats the other issue then? The Magus is demanding a stretch of territory on the border. About 200 miles deep into the Machian territory from the Magus. The Magus claims that it was land that they had lost in the 4th Mach-Magus War that occurred 35 years ago when the Mach invaded them. Do the Machians say it''s true? Yep. Are they willing to let it go? Nope. President Haye sighs to that answer. Goddammit. Its never easy. The Magus is threatening to declare war on us over that stretch of land. What are the negatives of giving them that land? Other than losing that piece of land to build military bases on, not much. Although the Machians are somewhat threatening to null the progress we have made in negotiations, its obvious that they are just bluffing. They have no more power to actually confront us again. Then just give the Magus that stretch of land. Im not sending innocent Americans to die fighting for another countrys land. Especially after that country tried to attack us. That should be all then oh wait, there are two other things. What? First, from the Department of Defense. What do they want? Uhhh John flips through the folder he is holding. Well, first of all, they are recommending that we repaint the desert camouflage that we have on our ground vehicles. Why? Well, studying the satellite images, we have found that this world greatly lacks deserts. There are only a couple of small deserts around this world. Thus, we will have to repaint our vehicles. I see. The DoD is also recommending some adjustments on hardware acquisition. What adjustments? Since we dont have any peer adversaries to worry about anymore, acquisition of stealth fighters and bombers arent that important. They are not recommending us to stop. Just to reduce the pace. We will still continue development just in case we ever get transported back to Earth. On the other hand, the acquisition of non-stealth aircraft is highly recommended since they are more suitable for current operations. For example, F-15EXs. That seems reasonable. Whats the second thing? The second thing is about the private sector. Hm? Some companies are expressing interest in the Bem Kingdom and Mach Imperium. They see the new world countries as a lucrative market and a possible place for cheap labor. Originally they were wary of expanding out because of the lack of protection. However, with our occupation of the Bem and Mach Imperium, that issue is gone. I see... well, as of right now, lets take some time to stabilize the Bem and Mach Imperium before opening the floodgates for these companies. Chapter 23 Part 2 – New Threats? RonTheBlackCat Holy cow! I was on trending three times this week! Thank you guys so much! Funny thing, the biggest spike in page views I had was a total of 1776 views (It''s a sign! For those who don''t get it-> The US became a nation in 1776.) Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a release ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 "Peace for our time" - Neville Chamberlain after signing the Munich Agreement with Adolf Hitler in 1938 (Almost directly a year later, World War Two would start) The song is based on "SS Marschiert in Feindesland" So you can hear the tone of the song -> https://youtu.be/4VtfZ57zVSs 1025 January 27th, 2020 CE 0912 Start 27th, 196 AE Town of Savaria Furius knocks on the door of his familys house. Who is I hope I didnt miss the wedding. Big brother! Tears form on the eyes of Furiuss little sister as she hugs him. We thought you died. Furius smiles. Your older brother wont die that easily. Inside the house, an older woman looks from a room. F Furius? I''m home, mother. Furiuss mother slowly walks to him for an embrace. I knew you were alive. Im just glad to be home. Mercator, who is behind Furius and is standing using crutches, coughs to get his attention. Ah, oh yeah, this is a friend I made in the Army, hes Mercator. Is it ok if he lives with us for a bit? His home is in Industropolis and it isnt really a good time for him to go back. Of course! Im going to call your father, hes working in the fields. We are having a celebration tonight! A few minutes later, Mercator, Furius, and Furiuss family is at the dinner table. Son, ever since we got news that the Americans have landed and that your unit had been wiped out, we were extremely worried. Well, we were lucky and barely escaped. What exactly happened? Well... you guys have read the letter I sent you correct?: Yes. Well, Mercator and I got stationed at Through dinner, Furius and Mercator recounts their experience of the war. ... we were able to get a ride from this nice guy who has a sister near Burdi. 0027 January 30th, 2020 CE 0454 Start 30th, 196 AE Near the town of Isca A knock came on her door. Who is it? Pomponia slowly walks to her door confused. Usually no one would come to her house seeing that it is secluded. Recently, she had feared that the Americans would barge in during the invasion but that never happened. Even more surprising was that she heard that the Americans didnt even pillage Industropolis when they arrived and won. Usually a victorious army would pillage and plunder a defended city. Pomponia opens her door slightly and looks out. A man is there looking down at her. Nice to meet you, I am a diplomat from the United States of America. Are you Pomponia Industros? March 12th, 2020 CE Start 42nd, 196 AE ??? Crowds line the streets for miles. Confetti rains down from houses. Long columns of soldiers with bayonets shining from their magirifles march in formation. Behind them, magitrucks pull magiartillery and light, medium, and heavy magipanzers motor along. Squadrons of magiplanes fly overhead. The infantrymen are singing to their National Army marching song Our glorious Army marches on human land and sings this glorious song A rifleman stands on humans shores and silently hums along Up and down we move forward And the whole world may Curse us or hail us Whatever they choose to do Wherever we are, lets go forwards! And we shall laugh like this: Ha-ha ha-ha! Were fighting for elves, Were fighting for our leader Well give the humans no rest. Wherever we are, lets go forwards! And we shall laugh like this: Ha-ha ha-ha! Were fighting for elves, Were fighting for our leader Well give the humans no rest. We are prepared to fight in many battles, To the north, south, east, and west And now we stand ready to fight against the human plague! Our glorious Army will never rest, We will destroy all humans So that no one will disturb our good fortune And when our ranks are thinned For us there will be no retreat! Wherever we are, lets go forwards! And we shall laugh like this: Ha-ha ha-ha! Were fighting for elves, Were fighting for our leader Well give the humans no rest. Wherever we are, lets go forwards! And we shall laugh like this: Ha-ha ha-ha! Were fighting for elves, Were fighting for our leader Well give the humans no rest. On a balcony of a palace overlooking a street where soldiers are marching through, a young and tall person stands looking proudly at this display of strength. My leader, the Great Maguss death is nearing. The doctors are saying that he will die within the month. Send him my regards. He has done his duty for all elves. Finalize the preparations for surfacing. Chapter 24 Part 1 – Blitzkrieg RonTheBlackCat Sorry for not responding to any of your recent comments and sorry for the shorter chapters. Everything will go back to normal after the next release and I will start responding to all past comments. I''m extremely tired from my testing. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a release ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/oVWEb-At8yc Bismarck by Sabaton "This is a war of extermination" - Adolf Hitler Updated map of the world -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ntIUk4rEx6HcJk71gaERN7sEl-fbokhE/view?usp=sharing 0834 January 31st, 2020 CE Washington D.C. In the Oval Office, President Hayes is receiving his morning briefing. Overall, the negotiations have gone quite smoothly with the Machian military officials. They have agreed, although quite bitterly, to hand over the territory that the Magus lost 35 years ago. We also have found the illegitimate daughter of the Emperor. Although she is refusing, our diplomat is saying that it is likely she could be convinced. Now, the main issue is our further operations in the Bem Kingdom and Mach Imperium. We will have to garrison forces and construct bases in order to cement our control. We will also have to be wary of possible dissent and other factors. About Two Months Later 1020 March 21st, 2020 CE President Hayes is in a meeting with his senior staff when a knocks disturbs it. Mr.President! Urgent! What? Our satellite found a continent surfacing to the south of the Magus Imperium. The President questions it as if he had lost his hearing. Hm? Surfacing? Its coming out of the ocean. A confused face forms on the President. What? 0104 March 21st, 2020 CE 0332 Start 51st, 196 AE Afvalin, Elven Nation, Elven Continent Tarron Venharice views the scene in front of him. Hundreds of ships are preparing in the main port. Hundreds of magipanzers motor down the road beside him. As this is happening, the air bubble held up by the Great Magus for nearly 150 years slowly disappears from top to bottom. The water that was kept for the port in the air bubble meets the water of the oceans. The Great Magus has truly served his and his fathers nation. Even now, the disappearing air bubble and the resurfacing of the continent is only possible because of the Great Magus. Tarron reminisces of the time when his father was still alive and the Great Magus wasnt near death. One of his greatest memories was when he, his father, and the Great Magus entered the Royal Palace with their army and overthrew the weakling king who had submitted to the humans. If only the Great Maguss health wasnt bad, they could have immediately started an offensive against the humans. The power of the Great Magus was unmatched but his health required him to need extreme care. Even with powers to raise and lower small continents, he would have died from his illness if he went into battle. Now it was up to him to accomplish his fathers dream. Tarron looks up towards the sky and mumbles. Dear Father, once Im finished, there will not be even one single human left on this planet. I shall cleanse it of all its filth and inferior species. 0414 March 21st, 2020 CE 0507 Start 51st, 196 AE Western Beaches of the Magus Imperium, It is a bright and sunny day on the Western Coastal Defense Line, a line of naval fortifications and trenches stretching from one end of the western beaches of the Magus Imperium to the western end of the Magus-Mach border. It has been about two months since the defeat of the Mach Imperium. Although still active, the number of soldiers on the Western Coastal Defense Line is slowly being reduced. With no foreseeable threat in the near future because of the Magus defeat and their non-aggression pact with the United States of America, the Magus Imperium has decided not to waste so many resources and manpower on the coastal defenses. In the highest and one of the few still manned naval fortifications, a soldier lazily scans the horizon looking for ships. He sweeps his binoculars from west to east before quickly moving back to a spot that he had just passed. Sir a rather large ship has appeared over the horizon. Were the Navy conducting exercises? Hm? I didnt get any reports of our Navy conducting any exercises here. Could it be a merchant ship? Cant be. It looks like a battleship... its turning to its broadside. Give me the binoculars! The commander of the naval fortification grabs the binoculars out of the soldiers hands. After looking through the binoculars for a bit, the commander screams out in alarm. Its huge It its turning its gun towards us! Enemy? Man the gun! Man, it! Contact the other fortifications! A few minutes later, it is too late. While still loading the naval gun, a massive blast destroys the naval fortification. The surviving and still manned naval fortifications desperately try to elevate their gun to target the massive battleship. A few minutes earlier The pride of the Elven Nation and a beast made of steel, the NN(National Navy) Venharice aims at the coast with its eight 38 cm cannons. Created to lead the elven war machine and to rule the waves, it is being used at the start to demonstrate the might of the Elven Nation. Show these humans true war! Fire! The eight cannons blast an entire salvo towards the fortifications. Within minutes, eight 1,764-pound armor-piercing shells detonate across the targeted portion of the Western Coastal Defense Line. For the next ten minutes, the guns on the NN Venharice continue firing salvos in intervals towards the naval fortifications. A few more minutes later Hundreds of landing craft and supporting warships appear from behind the battleship speeding towards the beaches. These landing crafts, designed by the top engineers of the Elven Nation, are able to carry four heavy magipanzer weighing 50 tons each hundreds of miles on the seas. Today they are carrying a mixture of infantry, magipanzers, magitrucks, magiartillery, and other vehicles. On other sectors of the western beaches of the Magus Imperium, similar events play out. 0426 March 21st, 2020 CE 0513 Start 51st, 196 AE Abellinum People bustle around in the streets of one of the biggest cities in the northwestern region of the Magus Imperium. Two months ago, the city had one of the biggest celebrations in its history. People celebrated fervently to the news of the Machian defeat. From the formation of the Magus Imperium, the Machian Imperium had always been a threat and an arch-nemesis. Magusian schools had always taught their students that the Machians were vicious demons aiming to destroy the Magus Imperium. For most of the lives of the common Magusian citizen, the threat of invasion from the Mach Imperium was always there. When the news had spread about the Machian defeat and occupation, everyone became hysterical. Of course, it was disappointing that it wasnt caused by their own hands but it was still a victory nonetheless. Now, with everything back to normal and the mess from the celebration cleaned up, people had quickly returned to their daily lives. In one of the busy main streets of the city, people entered and exited stores and cars snailed their way through the congested road. All of a sudden, hundreds of terrifiying screeching sounds proliferate through the air. People look up towards the sky to witness aircraft diving towards them. In an instance, the bustling city shatters. Numerous large explosions go off and screams of horror can be heard throughout the city as men, women, and children scramble for cover. Cars screech to a stop in the middle of the streets as their occupants run away. The people who were once strolling calmly through the streets are either running into buildings or crouching down. In the air, hundreds of magi dive bombers, Ra-189s designed by the Ralnor Aircrafts and Motor Works in 189 AE, dive towards the city to unleash their payload. Thousands of 550 lb bombs and 50 lb bombs rain down onto the city, indiscriminately killing anyone in its blast radius. Many minutes pass before the explosions and screeching come to a stop. A devastated city is left behind. Fires rage and buildings crumble. Chapter 24 Part 2 – Blitzkrieg RonTheBlackCat Everything will go back to normal next week. Hooray! I will start responding to your comments soon. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a release ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/5QMtffaHPc8 Firestorm by Sabaton "If the tanks succeed, then victory follows." - Heinz Guderian (German General/Tank Expert) 0510 March 21st, 2020 CE 0535 Start 51st, 196 AE Baiae Air Base Funding for the Air Corps had gone down a bit because of the peace. Unlike the Coastal Defense Lines, the Air Corps must always be ready and on alert. For the Coastal Defense Lines, all you had to do was send a bunch of recruits to man it within a few days. The Air Corps was different. They needed to have experienced pilots who were able to control and tend the wyverns and to continue to train new pilots and wyverns. However, the airbases activity is at an all-time low. With their traditional arch-nemesis defeated, there isnt much to worry about anymore. So, it came as a surprise when reports of air attacks and orders commanding all units to take to the sky came flooding in. Although the pilots are confused about the reports and distress messages, wyverns start running down the runway to take to the sky. Within a few minutes, hundreds are flying west. They have orders to intercept enemy aircraft flying over Magusian land. Less than 30 minutes later Airspace over the western region of the Mach Imperium A large formation of aircraft is in their sights. It looks as if it is a swarm of bees. Although very similar to Machian planes with a propellor at its front, these only have one pair of wings and look much sleeker. While the Magusian wyverns close in the distance, the enemy aircraft breaks formation. It is obvious that they had noticed the wyverns coming. Some start climbs while others turn. Before long, the enemy aircraft start plunging towards the formation of wyverns. An elven magifighter squadron commander, Major Erlan Norna, notices the large formation of wyverns approaching them. Through his magitransimittor, which uses mana, the magical particles in the air, to send voices to others, he calls out to his squadron. Wyverns manned by humans to our left! Prepare to engage! His magifighter, the Ea-192, a fighter designed by Elven Air in 192 AE, has engines and machine guns powered by a magibattery. As long as the magibattery doesnt run out of mana, the bullets will not stop and the engine will continue running. Erlan pulls his plane up and turns left before beginning a dive. As he and his fighter wing get closer to the humans wyverns, Erlan lines up a plane in his sights. He presses the button to fire. The elven aircraft have fired first. Tracer magibullets whizz towards the wyverns, hitting and cutting down many. As the two sides fly even closer to each other, the wyverns start to throw fireballs towards the aircraft. Some are able to dodge them while others that are hit with fireballs burst into flames. Erlan jerks his plane hard to the right to avoid one aimed at him. He then quickly turns and gets onto the tail of an enemy. An intense air battle rages in the sky as wyverns and aircraft criss-cross each other. The maneuverability and speed of the Ea-192 greatly outmatch the wyverns. The wyverns take time to charge up their fireballs while the magifighters just gun them down with endless magibullets. The magifighters easily get onto the tail of wyverns and dispatch them within a few shots. However, the wyverns do sometimes get some lucky hits with their fireballs in this chaos of battle. Although taking some casualties, the magifighters emerge victoriously. Erlan gets onto the radio. Good work, fellows. Seems like these inferiors are using even more inferior creatures to fight their battles. My magibattery is running low, we are returning to base for now. 0538 March 21st, 2020 CE 0549 Start 51st, 196 AE Western Beaches of the Magus Imperium The 11th Elven Blitzpanzer Division makes its way across the beach. A division made up mainly of light magipanzers and magitrucks carrying soldiers, they are one of the many Blitzpanzer Corps in charge of spearheading the attack. Although they are focused on speed, they also have medium magipanzers as support against well-armored opponents. The Elven High Command has decided to unleash a new type of warfare upon the feeble humans. Blitzkrieg. Chapter 25 – The Storm Has Arrived RonTheBlackCat I will start responding to all past comments tomorrow. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/Xosp-rJ0ySI Ghost Divison by Sabaton "You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread." - Heinz Guderian It is another calm day for Lieutenant Colonel Leonid Primis. Even before the Machian surrender, the area that the 151st Infantry Regiment, the regiment that he is a part of, is in is quite peaceful. In his officer room, he has the company commanders of the four companies in his battalion, Captain Proclus Vocula, Captain Aulus Sevso, Captain Lars Curio, and Captain Agrippa Minervalis with him. They are drinking a little while playing cards. Aulus and Proclus are conversing. Aulus slaps down a card. I wonder if we can go back home earlier. Proclus places down half of his cards. Ha! As if. We have been stationed here for ages. Its not like just because the Mach is gone that we dont have to be here. Lars joins in on the conversation after seeing that none of his cards can be used. Well if we have to go home that means we cant have times like these with each other anymore. It feels relaxing just to sit back and play some cards with you guys. Leonid counters both the conversation and the cards. It does get boring around here though. All the captains throw their cards on the table. Curio thinks a bit about what Leonid said. Hm then how about we go out to town for some fun during one of our free times. Lets go to that bar again. My treat! Leonid nods. Aye! Sounds good. Another round? Although Leonid is two ranks higher, he and his company commanders have been great friends for a long time. Even now with one of them having a higher rank, they converse like when they were all second lieutenants. 0624 March 21st, 2020 CE 0612 Start 51st, 196 AE Primopolis, Magus Imperium Emperor Arstant has never felt more relaxed in his life. It is as if all the stress is gone. Constant worry about the Mach Imperium had aged him. Now with two months of no enemies to worry about, he is starting to look more youthful. The even better news is the American activity in his country. American companies are interested in opening stores and factories inside the Magus Imperium and trade deals are being formed. There is also the possibility of American help in improving infrastructure. Originally American officials were also interested in magic but for some reason lost interest after some observation. When they were asked why they just said that the magic seemed interesting but wasnt of much use to them. To the Emperor, it is a shame because if the Americans had more interest, the Magus Imperium could have exchanged their magic information for American military technology. The Americans are keeping a tight lid on anything that could help them militarily. He is currently drinking some tea in his office while looking out the window. Your majesty! Your majesty! Arstant grumbles at excessive knocking on his door before responding. Hm? No need to shout. With the Mach gone, I have never felt better. Come in. What is it? One of his servants burst through the door. Invasion! Invas HM!? Invasion?! Have the Americans broken their pact?! No, we are being invaded by an unidentified enemy to the north! To the north? Where exactly? Reports are stating of air attacks on Abellinum. There''s also spotty reports of possible enemy landings on the western beaches. Whats the situation? Have our forces engaged? Is the Western Coastal Defense Line holding out? We have been trying to establish contact with the units at the Western Coastal Defense Line but they havent responded. Our Air Corps should currently be engaging the enemy aircraft. Results are as of yet unknown. Get Advisor Caius! A Few Minutes Later Emperor Arstant is in a military office with Military Advisor Caius and a few other generals. Military Advisor Caius is explaining the current war plan to the Emperor. Your majesty, we are sending the First Army towards the Western Coastal Defense Line. Besides, commands are being sent to any units on the other side of the Verona River to also go there. There they will prepare to push them back to the sea. Someone knocks on the door to the military office. Military Advisor Caius looks up from the map and replies to the knock. Enter. A soldier enters and salutes. Report! The wyvern squadrons that we have sent to engage the enemy air units are being considered as lost. Also, we have established contact with some units on the Western Coastal Defense Line. They have reported that other sectors of the defense line had come under heavy naval bombardment and that enemy troops have already landed and established a beachhead. We are also getting reports of possible enemy advance past the defense line. Caius, this plan wont work. The defense line already fell. Caius ponders a bit and starts moving pieces that represent positions of units on the map before responding. Hmmm then the First Army will be creating a position on the Verona River and are ordered to hold them off until we can fully mobilize and send more. Once the Fourth Army arrives on the river, we can then make plans for a counterattack. The Emperor looks onto the map that is placed on the large table in the middle of the military office. The map depicts the entirety of the Magus Imperium and the current positions of armies, divisions, and independent regiments. What about the units stationed and active on the other side of the Verona River and are we just going to abandon Abellinum? The units will be given orders to retreat and set up various positions on the Verona. The surviving civilians of Abellinum will be evacuated. We probably cant hold the city so we should just give way and let them through. 0228 March 22nd, 2020 CE 0414 Start 52nd, 196 AE Northern Part of the Magus Imperium (From the US view, it''s the southern parts) Magianzers and the magitrucks of the 11th Elven Blitzpanzer Division make headway towards their target city of Anbellinum. Resistance has been light because of their successful surprise attack. They blasted through any enemy units in their way and hastily crossed and ignored many towns in order to hold on to the advantage of the surprise attack. Those towns can be dealt with by the Elven Army Corps behind them. Less than a few miles in front Men of the 151st Infantry Regiment march down the road on their way to Anbellinum. For some reason, orders have been given for a hasty retreat behind the Verona and to evacuate any remaining civilians in the town they were in and in the towns they came across. Most civilians and military alike are confused. Who could be the enemy? Did some Machian units flee after their countrys surrender and are coming to attack? A few minutes later The 11th Elven Blitzpanzer Division crests a hill. The commander of the first tank that got on the hill gets on his magiradio. <<< Large group of humans spotted. Seems to be in the hundreds >>> The commander of the 11th Elven Blitzpanzer Division, Lieutenant General Ara Balra, opens her commander hatch and views the humans with her binoculars after her tank also pulls up to the hill. She had been a major general in command of a magipanzer division but got promoted to lieutenant general. She is still in command of a division but this division was special given that it had more independence. Although a Lieutenant General, she had decided to be at the front of her divisions assault. Despite the protests she got from her subordinates and staff, she got her way. She didnt even agree to their suggestion of switching to one of the medium tanks. She replies with her magiradio. A magiradio is specifically designed to use mana to send signals across the air to other magiradios. <<>> Her tank and the ones beside her on the hill, all Stallion light magipanzers (aka blitzpanzers), open up with their 20 mm main guns. The magipanzers are powered by a magiengine that only uses mana as fuel. Unlike the hybrid that the Magus uses, the Elven magipanzers using only mana are more efficient. The main cannons on the magipanzer are magicannons capable of using very dense mana as ammunition. This allows flexibility since mana can be formed into both high explosive and armor-piercing. Some have thought of implementing a ground barrier around the magipanzers and other vehicles but that was seen as impossible. It is only possible using the new Great Magus who had five times the mana of a normal elven. The last Great Magus, the one who submerged and raised the continent, had ten times the mana of a normal elven. Elves with the mana like the last Great Magus only come a couple thousand years. Elven scientists experimented with trying to make a large barrier by making many elves with average mana activate their barrier spell at the same time. This resulted in multiple small barriers forming around the elves themselves. Some even tried experimenting with the magibatteries seeing that it''s able to use mana given to it by multiple people. The magibatteries were only able to produce power and nothing too complicated. Combining complex magic seems to be a far off prospect. Furthermore, with a ground barrier up, you cant see nor fire at the enemy. Explosions occur on the humans below the hill and the human formation descends into chaos. Major General Balra gets onto her radio again <<>> The smoke is clearing from the explosions that just occurred. Body parts are lying everywhere in the area of the explosion. Screams can be heard. Lieutenant Colonel Leonid was flung to the ground from the explosion. He raises his head from the ground and looks towards an area where a group of civilians, mostly families, were. He had just been talking to them and was waving goodbye to them as he walked away so he could go back to his unit. Some he had known personally because they lived near where his regiment was positioned. Looking there, he only finds charred and ripped apart bodies. Tanks! Enemy tanks! Hearing that, Leonid shakes his head and gets onto his feet. Spending a few seconds to reorient himself, he starts to shout out commands to the surviving men of his battalion. Although his ears are still ringing a bit and he is feeling a bit uneven, he still has a job to do. Get the civilians out! Quickly! GO! In the panicked chaos, other officers are issuing orders at random with no coordination. The enemy tanks are charging! Stand your ground and return fire! Return fire! Return fire! Unlike Leonids orders, most of the other orders are telling them to stand firm. It didnt seem like they understood that they were facing tanks. Sure, there are some in the infantry regiment who are Maguses with probably enough power to destroy a tank but there arent enough of them. Civilians and some soldiers are running. The soldiers that are braver stand firm. Leonid gives a hand to a civilian who was flung onto the ground. Get out of here! Although disorganized, some of the 151st Infantry Regiment return fire with their rifles or magic. They hit but are unable to penetrate the armor of the enemy tanks. Keep firing! Its no use! Most of the others in the 151st Infantry Regiment are in chaos and are fleeing. Leonid desperately tries to keep his men together while also directing civilians. Quickly! Second Battalion! Get to the forests! Help any civilians. Leonid quickly tries to find his battalion sergeant major and the company commanders in order to quickly reorganize. Under constant explosions, Leonid navigates to where he had left his battalion. He sees a familiar face crouching and delivering orders to a soldier. Aulus! Thank Angels I found you. Order your men to retreat and get to the forest. Help the civilians! They are being caught in the crossfire. Tell this order to the other company commanders! RonTheBlackCat Stallion Light Magipanzer Picture from the tank museum website Chapter 26 – War Crimes RonTheBlackCat Feeling a bit tired recently since I have been binge-reading stuff. I kinda need to stop. XD. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/96HtY9XJSMA The Final Solution by Sabaton "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Not Sure (Maybe Edmund Burke?) Machine guns from the tanks can be heard as they start to get within range. The remaining formations of infantrymen of the 151st Infantry Regiment that had returned fire melted as they either got torn apart or started fleeing. The tanks mercilessly crash into a group of stragglers and crush them under their tracks. Ara looks out of the viewports of her commanders hatch. The enemy is in complete chaos while her tanks maintain formation charging. Her tank had just run over an inferior who was idiotic enough to try to destroy her tank with a mere bolt action rifle. Blood now definitely covers the front tracks and hull of her tank. Driver, turn right, I see a group of humans. Run them over! At this point, Ara didnt even bother shooting at them seeing that it is a waste of ammunition. Her tank speeds up to the right with the intent of crushing the fleeing and clearly unarmed civilians. Women and children among them. They crunch under the tracks of her tank. 0250 March 22nd, 2020 CE 0425 Start 52nd, 196 AE Town of Cirpi A battalion from the 50th Elven Infantry Division of the 16th Elven Army Corp enters their first human town. Many things had been dropped on the ground as the humans fled to their homes when the elvens entered. The battalion surveys the town and orders his subordinates to order their men to begin "cleaning up". The platoon commanders order their men as the battalion spreads out throughout the town. Round up all the humans! The soldiers kick down or smash the doors to the houses and force the occupants out at either gunpoint or dragging them out. Quickly. Quickly! Round them up in that area. Dont let any escape. The battalion commander had designated an area where they will all be placed first. The humans complain as they are being pushed around by the soldiers. Some of the human children are crying. Hey! What are you doing!? Watch it! One of the humans notices the ears of the soldiers. Theyre elvens! A few of the humans look up to see the pointy, long ears that symbolize an elf. Some humans try to resist using magic but are gunned down before they could do much. Some also try to form barriers to protect themselves but are blown up with grenades and shot to pieces. Less than ten minutes later After clearing all the houses and thoroughly combing the town for anyone who was hiding, the battalion commander issues new orders to his subordinates after taking an estimate of the number of humans. Put them all into those four houses over there. You know what we were ordered to do. He points to a group of houses next to each other in the outer parts of town. Regardless of age and gender, humans are all shoved into the houses. The doors are closed and secured. A couple of platoon commanders were in charge of the next stops. Get the flamethrower team and the machine gunners. Yes sir! Before long, the flamethrower teams are in front of the houses and the machine gunners have set up their machine guns behind them. The machine guns are loaded with magibullets. Light the houses on fire. Machine guns, dont open fire until ordered so. The flamethrowers douse the house in fire by using their mana to conjure up flames and step back behind the machine gunners. Many screams can be heard from the houses as their occupants roast alive. Theres a fire! Open the door! Let us out! Let us out! The humans in the house pound the door. Wait for it wait for it ? couple of seconds later, a few flaming and screaming figures burst out of the house. One seems to be as small as a child. Fire! The machine gunners opened up on the people outside before spreading out their machine-gun fire on the house. Before long, the screaming dies down. Check around the houses! Make sure none of the filth survived. A few soldiers circle the house to see if any humans were able to get out. The fires of the houses still burn brightly as smoke rises into the air An officer kicks one of the bodies of those who ran out. It is charred black and blood is running out of where the human was shot. Some humans are not charred like the others but had blood all over them. They were the few who had survived the fire by using water magic to protect themselves only to get gunned down in the end. A few minutes later The car of the regimental commander comes into town. The battalion commander salutes as a person exits the car. "At ease. I see you have finished here Lieutenant Colonel." Major General, did we really have to kill them all? Werent there orders to keep some of them as slaves? Lieutenant Colonel Vulmar, these are orders from the division commander. Leave none alive for now. We are still following the orders of the Leader by taking slaves later. And besides, there are enough of these vermin running around to make slaves. We can kill as many as we like. Vulmar gets closer to the Major General and lowers his voice a bit. I know but you know... one of the women looked quite nice if you know what I mean. The Major General smirks. You can get a couple of slaves in the future but there''s another way for you to have ''fun''. Pick one next town and have a go at it then. You can kill them after the ''fun''. There weren''t orders not to do this so its fine. Across the western Mach Imperium, humans living in towns experience a similar fate. 0510 March 22nd, 2020 CE 0535 Start 52nd, 196 AE Elfarion, Elven Nation, Elven Continent Tarron walks into a room where all his senior military staff are. The staff all stand at attention and salute by slapping their fists to their hearts when they notice him. Hail Venharice! Tarron didnt really like the salute and greeting but it was something that his late father liked so he decided to keep it. How is the invasion going? His top Army general, Conall Leona, responds Exceedingly well, my leader. Although the Empire is a bit better armed and developed than expected, we have crushed their weak coastal defenses, we have air superiority, and the 1st Blitzpanzer Corps will be converging on the main human city of this area in about three or four days. Our main force will arrive in the city within a week. So far our units have only found and engaged with disorganized retreating human units. We are expecting the humans to retreat behind this river. The 1st Blitzpanzer Corps will take the city before quickly continuing on to secure the bridge. Wont the humans blow up the bridge? That''s why the 1st Blitzpanzer Corp will take it before they can. What if they blow it up before we can? We have engineers that can quickly build a pontoon bridge if needed. Good. Our further plans havent changed, correct? Yes, my leader. Our main forces, the Central Army made up of two infantry corps, one magipanzer corps, and one blitzpanzer corps will be centered at the city. Western Army and Eastern Army will each be made up of two infantry corps and one magipanzer divison. The Central Army will be the main push. The Western and Eastern armies are to make the humans spread their forces thin. Good. How about the one against the kingdoms? The kingdoms are a joke. They have developed nothing and our forces are easily crushing any opposition. The Siburg Kingdom will be defeated in a couple of days. There wasnt even any need to deploy one of our aircraft carriers there. The Kingdoms that the elves are referring to are the kingdoms on the Soane continent. The elves have placed top priority at defeating the Empire and sent most of their forces there because they suspected the Empire would be much more advanced than the Kingdoms. They are right. Even with their measly force at the Kingdoms, they are crushing them. 1023 March 22nd, 2020 CE Washington D.C. President Haye is in the Oval Office discussing the recent continent rising out of the ocean. So they are Elvens? Well if the legends are true then they are. Well, they did just rise out of the ocean out of nowhere. We are also getting reports of a massive Elven invasion underway against the Magus Imperium. Did the Magus Imperium provoke them? Doesnt seem like it. The Elvens attacked less than one day after they rose out of the ocean. Might be past hate or something. Hm. How is their invasion going? From what we could get, the Elvens seem to be successful and are pushing back the Magus. Then we will have to evacuate any Americans currently in the Magus then. Better send that warning out soon. That''s for certain. So what do we know about the Elvens anyway? Well they disappeared around 50 AE, 150 years ago, and were a bit more advanced than humans of this world were at that time. Do we know their current technological capabilities? Our recon satellites have taken some images and we currently classify them as a World War Two nation. Seeing that they seem to have World War Two technological capabilities, we fear they might have already developed a nuclear bomb. However, we still need to study the images more in order for us to form a more solid conclusion on their actual level of technology. I think we should try to establish diplomatic contact and figure out why they are at war with the Magus wait wouldnt this also implicate us if it was past hate? When did the original empire break apart into the Magus and Mach? Around 80 AE. Oh great wont that mean the Elvens might attack the Mach? If they still think that the old empire is still an entity, then most likely yes. We must establish diplomatic contact as soon as possible. 1020 March 22nd, 2020 CE 0810 Start 52nd, 196 AE Near the town of Aemona The sky behind them is black with smoke from the fire spreading across the town they had just exited. Elven soldiers of the 16th Infantry Division march down the road towards their next target. Looking down the road towards the Elves and the burning town behind them makes the elven infantry division seem like an army from hell. 1032 March 22nd, 2020 CE 0816 Start 52nd, 196 AE Northern Part of the Magus Imperium Leonid guides his battalion through the forest. With the surviving members of his battalion are other survivors, both military and civilian, of the tank attack on the 151st infantry regiment. He has with him about 323 soldiers which in a unit size perspective is around two companies of men. 300 soldiers were from the four companies in his battalion. Less than half of his original battalions 800. Both Leonids battalion sergeant major and executive officer, who is a major, did not survive. The other 23 were from either the First Battalion or the Third. The amount of survivors is a dismal number. The 151st Infantry Regiment had at least 3,000 men. Leonids heart felt heavy because he had lost one of his company commanders, Captain Lars Curio. Lars was a very close friend to him and the other company commanders. Leonids feelings are obvious and Aulus sighs before looking at him. We will avenge him, Leonid. Dont you worry about that. Leonid looks down at the soil of the forest. That bastard how could he just die on us... They are now making haste towards the city of Abellinum. With their shortcut through the forest, they should arrive within two days. Hopefully, the enemy tanks wont get there by then. March 26th, 2020 CE Start 56th, 196 AE Near Abellinum Out of the three Elven Blitzpanzer Divisions in the 1st Elven Blitzpanzer Corps, hers, the 11th Elven Blitzpanzer Division, is the closest to the human city. Ara is currently looking at the human city from miles away. Chapter 27 – The 300 RonTheBlackCat An interlude (I''m thinking of making it two parts) about the elves will be coming up soon. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/hm-PT_FdAJU Sparta by Sabaton "Molon labe" (Come and take them) - Leonidas I in reply to Xerxes I''s demand that the Spartans surrender their weapons (reported by Plutarch) 0520 March 26th, 2020 CE 0540 Start 56th, 196 AE Abellinum Evacuations of civilians are still underway in Abellinum when scouts came back with the report of enemy tanks approaching. It is estimated with their speeds that they will arrive in a few hours. The civilians who lived in the city had already been evacuated but the ones from nearby towns and further away who came to Abellinum for protection have not yet been. Colonel Kaeso Donatus looks at his map. We need to hold them back for a day. If we dont, we cant get all the civilians over the bridge before the enemy tanks get to the bridge. Regimental Sergeant Major Appius Volumnius, his assistant, comments on it. If we leave any military units behind to hold them back, they will not be able to return. We are planning to blow that bridge up. It''s the only bridge that crosses the Verona River for miles around here. Because of how long the bridges have to be in order to cross this section of the Verona River, there are very few bridges in this area. They were extremely lucky that the enemies hadn''t sent any bombers to destroy the bridge. It might be because the enemy either wanted to use it or that their bombers didnt have the range. The bridge across the Verona was about 20 miles behind them. That''s even more reason to leave a military unit behind. If we dont, they will take the bridge before we are even able to blow it up. Cant they just circumnavigate the city to take the bridge? The mountainous terrain around the city is not suitable for tanks. They will have to go through this valley to get to the bridge. 0823 March 26th, 2020 CE 0711 Start 56th, 196 AE Leonid approached Abellinum with his men and the civilian survivors. There are quickly erected barbed wire and sandbags surrounding the road entrances to the city. The city seems to be full of civilians streaming in. A soldier stops them at the entrance. I need to see the commanding officer! Parts of the city had been completely destroyed. Damage can be seen everywhere. Leonid ?nters an undamaged tavern where the commanding officer had made it into his temporary command center and salutes. Lieutenant Colonel Leonid Primis reporting! Im the commander of the Second Battalion of the 151st Infantry Regiment. Welcome Lieutenant Colonel Primis. Im Colonel Kaeso Donatus. Commander of the 52nd Infantry Regiment, the garrison unit of Abellinum. What happened to the commander of the 151st Infantry Regiment? Sir, most of the 151st Infantry Regiment was wiped out when enemy tanks attacked us during our retreat. I have with me a total of 323 men and a couple of hundred civilians. That''s all the survivors? Most likely, sir. Whats the current situation, sir? Bad. The enemy had moved much faster than we predicted. We had planned to blow up the bridge that crosses the Verona River once my unit passes but now Im not sure if my unit can leave. If my unit leaves now, the enemy will catch up to us within a few hours. Its even possible for them to secure the bridge before it gets blown up. I had decided to leave behind a force to cover the retreat but my staff and the commanders of my battalions are adamantly against the idea of leaving anyone behind. None of them were willing to stay. Kaeso sighs before continuing. You should prepare to leave too. The earlier we leave the better. My unit will leave with the last of the civilians. We will be doing a fighting retreat. A few minutes later Captain Proclus Vocula had waited for his Lieutenant Colonel to return. Leonid! Whats the situation? Wheres Aulus and Agrippa? We need to talk. They are over there sitting on the chairs that they dragged out of the bombed houses. Leonid walks to them with Proclus following. Leonid gets their attention. We need to talk. What is it Leonid? The civilians we guided here are being evacuated correct? Yep and our men are resting in this area. Good to hear. Heres the situation. According to the commanding officer of the Anbellium garrison, the enemy tanks are extremely close. His subordinates are unwilling to leave anyone behind to cover the retreat. The most likely scenario would be that the Anbellium garrison will have to defend the civilians against enemy tanks while on the retreat. Here''s the thing I want us to stay behind to cover the retreat. You dont have to listen to me it''s up to you guys we probably wont survive... The three captains of Leonids battalion looked at each other. We are with you, Lieutenant Colonel. It''s time to show these bastards what happens when they attack us! For Captain Curio! Leonid smiles and shakes his head. The captains gather all 323 men in order for them to learn of their plans. Leonid stands in front of his men and his eyes sweep from left to right. Leonid starts solemnly. Men of the 151st Infantry Regiment! I know that we are all tired. But we still have a duty to do. There are still innocent civilians who are under threat! You saw what happened to them during our retreat! Do you want it to happen again?! Do you want innocent women and children to be cut down just because we were too scared to do something about it?! Stay with me with us! Your captains and I have agreed to stay behind and cover the civilians. We will show these invaders what it means to fight the Imperium! What it means to fight the 151st! We are no cowards! We will avenge our fallen brothers of the 151st! Are you with us?! Silence falls over the air and Leonid despairs at the fact that maybe no one among his men is brave enough to do this. Then cheers rise. Let''s show them!" Glory to our Imperium! Lieutenant Colonel we are with you! Of course, not all the soldiers are with them. The 23 soldiers of the other battalions who didn''t really know the Lieutenant Colonel didnt want to stay. Leonid let them go. This left him with only 300 men to stop a tank onslaught. I know that we have all agreed to this but is this even possible? I mean there''s only 300 of us infantrymen against possible hundreds of enemy tanks. We will just be a road bump. I do have an idea though I will have to ask the Colonel if he has any. The captains look at each other not knowing what Leonid meant. Leonid enters the tavern once more. Didnt I tell you to evacuate? Why are you still here? Sir, my men and I have decided to stay behind to cover your retreat. Kaeso narrows his eyes. Lieutenant Colonel Primis, you know that you wont be able to retreat. We are blowing up the only bridge across for miles around here. My men and I know that! We will fight to the end. I have lost a dear friend to those bastards and I wont forgive myself if I just run at this point. Kaeso sighs. A lot of artillery pieces of various caliber are being left behind. We were planning to destroy them once my unit starts to leave but your battalion can use them. However, make sure that they are destroyed in the end. Try to retreat after holding out for at least two days. You probably wont be able to reach the bridge in time to find other ways of escaping. Despite what the Colonel just said, Leonid understood that retreat is most likely not an option. Especially if the bridges are all destroyed. They would be stuck on this side of the river which will be swarming with enemies within a few days from now. They will hold out in the city for as long as possible. Leonid brightens up. Understood, sir! Thank you, sir! I do have one request though. What is it? Do you have any sticks of magidynamite that I can use? 1016 March 26th, 2020 CE 0808 Start 56th, 196 AE The 11th Elven Blitzpanzer Division comes to a stop about half a mile out of the city. There are a couple of houses to their left which indicates that they are on the outskirts of the city. Ara observes the city. She can see sandbags and barbed wire piled on the road where the houses become much more grouped together but not a single human soldier. She also sees that part of the city was destroyed from the Air Forces bombings. To her, it seems quiet. Too quiet. Something felt wrong. It didnt make sense. This is supposed to be the humans biggest city in this area if the information from 150 years ago held true. Well, it does look to be true seeing that it definitely is a big city. What didnt make sense was the lack of defenders. It might seem that the inferior humans are cowardly and ran away but something didnt feel right. One of her regiment commanders walks up to her whilst she is staring at the human city. Lieutenant General, what are we stopping for? Send a company of tanks forward first. A few minutes later A tank company consisting of 15 Stallion light tanks on the road approach where the outskirts of the city ends and the actual city begins. Their mission is to drive down the road whilst the rest of the division follows them a couple hundred yards behind. The commanding officer of the company radios the platoon commanders of the platoons inside his company <<>> They had been warned by the Lieutenant General herself to approach cautiously and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. The front tanks press forward and soon there are tightly grouped houses on both sides of the road. They are no longer on the outskirts. Nothing can be heard other than the engines of their tanks. The city is completely deserted. After a few minutes of continuing, they come up to a point where there are two rather tall buildings on both sides. <<<"Seems to be no problem. We should pic>>> Massive explosions occur on the buildings on both sides. The ground shakes as the buildings crumble and come down onto the road. <<<<"Back up! Back up!>>> Two tanks of the company are buried under the rubble. The commanding officer of the company gets on his magiradio. <<<"First Lieutenant Enra, are you alright in there? First Lieutenant?! Dammit.>>> Then he switches his radio to contact his lieutenant colonel. <<<"Captain Hergo, whats going on up there?>>> <<<"Lieutenant Colonel, buildings on both sides of the street blew up and came down on two tanks of the 2nd Platoon. Im trying to contact the 2nd Platoon Leader who is in one of the two tanks but he isnt respon>>> A shot rang out. The commander of the tank next to Captain Hergos had opened up his hatch to get a view of what happened. Said commander was now slumping to the side of the hatch. <<<"Snipers! Stay in your tanks! Lieutenant Colonel, we are pulling back!>>> Captain Hergos company backs up as fast as possible. A commander of another tank in the company comes up on the magiradio. <<<"Grenades!>>> Explosions occur around them as grenades are thrown at them from an unknown source, The good thing is that the grenades did not have enough explosive power to damage the tanks. We got them! Leonid and 300 of his men are defending the city and covering the retreat of the 52nd Infantry Regiment and the civilians. They are in a happy mood after destroying and blocking off the enemy tanks. By planting the dynamite they got from the 52nd Infantry Regiment on the houses on the entrance roads, they plan to destroy and block off any tanks that try to make their way into the city. He had also posted snipers in various locations around the city in order to inflict more casualties. Ok men, we will be facing many more attacks! Dont falter. Also, bring up the field guns to the road where we destroyed the tanks. Although their artillery is seemingly useless in this circumstance because of no forward observers, no recon planes, and the houses blocking the view, Leonid has a different use for them. Lieutenant General Ara Belra has pulled all her tanks out of the city in case there were any more snipers. She pulls out her binoculars and once again studies the city. Let''s send a platoon to that entrance. Instruct them to not get out of their tanks. There doesnt seem to be large buildings over there but have them go in single file and far apart just in case. She points towards a different entrance while giving out orders. They had lost another tank. This time the humans planted explosives directly on the road. Chapter 28 – Lions Led by Donkeys RonTheBlackCat Sorry for not responding to comments recently. I have been unusually busy during the day and very tired at night. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/XnFSb8xcmN4 40:1 by Sabaton - A song about the Battle of Wizna where the Polish held off the Germans for 3 days while outnumbered around 60 to 1. Around 350 to 720 Poles held off against more than 40,000 Germans. "They are lions led by donkeys" - Erich Ludendorff (Maybe?), a WW1 German general, who was describing the British. 1044 March 26th, 2020 CE 0822 Start 56th, 196 AE Abellinum Back outside the city, her staff was bickering. Wont the humans do the same thing again? Cant we just shoot at all the buildings to prevent it? Thats a waste of ammunition. Cant we just go around to take the bridge? The terrain is too rough. Ara sighed and looked around at her staff. Her division has been stalled and she has lost 3 tanks. When are the rest of the Central Army going to get here? We will have to contact them to be sure but it''s most likely In a couple of days, madam. Then we will have to wait a couple of days. Lieutenant General, why do we have to wait a couple of days?! Our panzers are not going to work out. We need infantry to clear the city.. Usually, a magipanzer division would come with infantry, artillery, and various other types of units in it but these specially created divisions, the blitzpanzer divisions, did not. This was because the field marshals wanted to focus on speed for their new tactic called blitzkrieg. They removed everything that could possibly slow down the panzers. The field marshals had sorely underestimated the humans who they thought would just flee in terror once they saw the tanks. Infantry pfft Lieutenant General is something wrong? You have always felt confident in our panzers. The panzers are excellent but not in cities. The roads constrict their movement and we can have at most only two panzers side by side. As it seems, ambushes can be anywhere. Continuously charging in and losing tanks is not going to work. We can try to commit our entire force to overrun them but the casualties will be significant. Then why not go through the original entrance again? Blow away the rubble and charge in. They will never expect this. Well even use our medium tanks. ... we can try that tomorrow it''s getting late today. Set up camp. Throughout the night, Leonid and his men stayed vigilant. They had their weapons ready and they had posted rotating guards in case of any enemy attacks. Outside of the city, Ara and her staff were finalizing plans for tomorrow. 0042 March 27th, 2020 CE 0321 Start 57th, 196 AE Five medium tanks, also called the Knight tank, in a straight line approached the rubble that had been blown onto the streets and the Stallion tanks yesterday. Fire! Adjusting to high explosives, the 75mm cannon on the Knight at the front of the line opens up. The rubble is blown away and there is smoke covering the front. Forward! Suddenly an explosion occurs on the tank and on the ground around it. Commander, weve been hit! The Knight stops. No damage. Reload and wait for the smoke to clear. The smoke cleared before another shot hits them. Anti-tank guns in front! Open fire! In front of them are what seems to be three anti-tank guns. The Knights first shot destroys the one in the middle. Leonid viewed the battle with his binoculars The 75mm artillery is not doing anything to the enemy tank get the 155mm in position. The Magusian infantry crewing the 75mms bravely continued to pummel the Knight tank with all they had. Even resorting to using their guns and magic once their artillery was blown up. Among the men were some capable of destroying a Machian Industro IIs. To no avail, they were cut down by the Knights machine gun and main cannon. The upper front glacis plate armor of the Knight tank is 80mm thick with an angle of 55 degrees. This means that anything trying to penetrate the front armor will have to go through at least 139mm of armor. The 75mm artillery with high explosive magishells used by the Magusians will not do much to the Knight tank. Magusian cannons are very different from Elven magicannons. Magusian cannons use normal shells that are packed inside with mana as explosives. Elven magicannons use extremely dense mana as the shells. The Elven magishells can be molded into either armor-piercing or high explosive. The Knight tanks continued rumbling forward with the rest of the division behind it. As the first Knight tank crossed a four-way intersection, a massive explosion occurred on the left side of it. The four Knight tanks behind it came to a stop. The commander of the Knight behind the Knight that was fired upon tried to radio it. No response came back. <<>> A 155mm artillery had been in a lucky position. The lower side armor of a Knight is only at most 50mm thick with no angle. The 155mm was positioned at the road that was cutting through the main entrance road in order to surprise anything that came down the main entrance road. Although being artillery, it easily went through the side armor of the Knight and exploded in it which killed the crew. A few minutes later Ara sighed. Another tank lost. We are staying outside the city for now. Contact the infantry corps and ask them when they will arrive. 0524 March 27th, 2020 CE 0542 Start 57th, 196 AE The rest of the Elven Blitzpanzer Divisions had arrived outside the city of Anbellium. They formed together as the 1st Elven Blitzpanzer Corps. Their commander, General of the Panzers Tanyl Sarxina, would arrive with the Central Army. Lieutenant General Belra, nice to see you again! Im surprised you are not inside yet. Ara narrowed her eyes as she looked at her greeter. Lieutenant General Biphine... how nice to see you again... Lieutenant General Folre Biphine of the 6th Elven Blitzpanzer Division smiled. Never expected you to be so scared of going into a city. The humans have it well defended. Folre laughed Humans defending? Let me show you how it''s done, dear Ara. You women have no courage. Ara grumbled. As if you will fare any better. The commander of the 9th Elven Blitzpanzer Division, Lieutenant General Fylson Waesnon, looked at them and shook his head. Ever since the three of them had met after being tasked with this mission, Folre and Ara have been on very bad terms. Many days before the start of the invasion Afvalin, Elven Nation Ara entered the room and saluted. Nice to meet you, sir, Im Lieutenant General Ara Belra. I will be in charge of the 11th Elven Blitzpanzer Division. Lieutenant General Biphines smile that he had when meeting Lieutenant General Waesnon and General of the Panzers Sarxina dropped at this moment. A woman? Ara looked questionably at Folre What? Folre turned toward Tanyl General of the Panzers, this is utter ridiculousness. A woman in charge of this important mission? How did she even get this high of a rank sucking up to some superior? Now now Lieutenant General Biphine, Lieutenant General Belra is quite a distinguished panzer strategist. She has even written some books about it herself. In the Elven military, women were accepted. However, this didnt mean that they were approved by everyone. Of course, not many women had joined. This meant that high ranking female military officials were rare. Most women were low ranking soldiers and only served for a short time as an adventure. 0530 March 27th, 2020 CE 0545 Start 57th, 196 AE Abellinum Lieutenant General Biphine had discussed his plans with his staff and has now set off with his division towards the city. Stupid. Fylson, you going to try anything? Fylson didnt really care much about their rivalry. He is focused on accomplishing the mission with as little casualties as possible. I will see what happens. A few minutes later Explosions occurred in the city as the 6th Elven Blitzpanzer Division dueled with what remained of Leonids Second Battalion of the 151st Infantry Regiment. In what used to be Colonel Donatuss headquarters in the tavern, Leonid pointed at a crudely drawn map of the city. Bring up more of the 155mm! Position them right there! Go! Time is of the essence! Leonid had split the city up into three sectors. The western part of the city was under Captain Minervalus, the center was under Captain Sevso, and the east was under Captain Vocula. Each sector had at most 18 75mm artilleries and 6 155mm artilleries. Other than the magidynamite, the artillery was the only other proven weapon that could take out the enemy tanks. Now, all three sectors were reporting attacks. This was a clear indication of an all-out enemy attack. Their remaining planted dynamite took out some tanks at first. After that their 75mm artillery had easily taken out a few more of the enemy tanks but then bigger tanks like the one they had faced a few hours earlier for the first time had shown up. Having planned an all-out attack to overwhelm and overrun the humans, Folre sent companies of Stallions through all entrances that were facing towards them. The thin front armor of the Stallions, at only 30 mm, made it easier for them to be taken out by the 75mms guarding the roads. However, with multiple companies rushing in, the Stallions were able to take out some of the enemy 75mms. An intense battle on the roads occurred as shells flew. Disabled 75mms were abandoned as Stallion tanks exploded left to right from hits. In the end, the Stallions had to pull back because of the mounting losses. The report got to Folre. Inferiors with their dirty tricks! Send in the Knights! 0553 March 27th, 2020 CE 0556 Start 57th, 196 AE The Knights moved forward and this time the remaining 75mms were completely ineffective and were pushed aside. Seeing that the 155mms were their most precious weapons since they had been able to take out the bigger enemy tanks, they were placed on roads that intersected the entrance roads. This allowed the buildings to hide the 155mms and allowed the 155mms to surprise the enemy tanks. On one of the entrance roads, a platoon of Knights started to pass a four-way intersection. An explosion to the right side of the first Knight disabled it. Another Knight tried to go left of the disabled Knight to use it as cover whilst slowly traversing its turret to the right towards where the shot came from. An explosion to their left causes some damage. However, the Knight was able to fire off its gun towards the artillery on the right. A second shot from the left disabled the Knight. 155 mms had been placed on both sides of the road that intersected the entrance road. This was to ensure that no enemy was able to cross. The commander of the Knight that was trying to destroy the 155 mm to the right made a fatal mistake thinking there was nothing to their left. The remaining Knights could have pushed through but at the expense of more mounting losses. They turned back. 0612 March 27th, 2020 CE 0606 Start 57th, 196 AE Ara was leaning against her Stallion outside the camp as Folres Knight rolled up. Folre exited his tank and walked past Ara. So how did that go for you Lieutenant Colonel Biphine? Shut up. In the end, Folre lost 16 Stallions and 7 Knights. The higher-ups would probably be extremely unhappy. The tanks that the Blitzpanzer Divisions were equipped with were the Elvens best in-service tanks. 0938 March 27th, 2020 CE 0749 Start 57th, 196 AE Near the Verona River Colonel Donatus got out of his command car. After riding for more than a day, his regiment had finally crossed the Verona. There he found soldiers and tanks posted. He walked up to a soldier who saluted him. Who is the highest commanding officer here? Captain Forianus, sir! Take me to him. Kaeso entered the tent where Captain Forianus was supposed to be. There he saw a man looking at a piece of paper. Captain Forianus? The man didnt look up. Whom am I speaking with? Im Colonel Kaeso Donatus of the 52nd Infantry Regiment. With that Captain Forianus jolted up and saluted. Sorry, sir! Captain Spurius Forianus! What is your unit doing here? We are supposed to guard the bridge. Wasnt their orders to blow it up after my unit came through? Uh oh yes there were but they were scrapped. We got orders not to blow it up. ...why!? The First Army is mobilizing much faster than expected. With this, we dont need to blow up the bridge. Get me in contact with your superior immediately! 1248 March 27th, 2020 CE 0924 Start 57th, 196 AE Abellinum Leonid looked at his beleaguered men. They have been reduced from the beginning of 300 to around only 240 left. They have lost 15 75mm and 4 155mm. If another all-out attack came they should still be able to hold. However, if a third one occurred, the probability of repelling it was questionable. Men, do you know what is behind us? The Verona is! Our brothers in arms are preparing for a counter-attack there. If we fail, our country falls! Remember that! The captains and I have agreed to stay here to the end! Are you willing to stay with us? Cheers rose out. AYE! RonTheBlackCat Knight Medium Magipanzer From Wikipedia Chapter 29 – Last Stand RonTheBlackCat Next chapter will be an interlude about the elves! I will also try to respond to new and past comments. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/iGtEH1i78sI Resist and Bite by Sabaton - A song about a unit of only 40 Belgian men of the Chasseurs Ardennais. They held off the German armies (including Erwin Rommel''s "Ghost Divison") for 18 days and only surrendered when they ran out of ammo. When the Belgians finally surrendered, the Germans asked. "Where are the others?" They simply laughed and answered, "There are no others, we are all!" "They are not men, they are green wolves" - Erwin Rommel referring to the 40 Belgians who held off the German armies Shoutout for AirsoftAL for reviewing this novel on youtube. Here''s his youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/army64100 2308 March 27th, 2020 CE 0234 Start 58th, 196 AE Western Region of the Verona River A detachment from the First Army guarded one of the many major bridges on the western side of the Verona River. Sandbag positions, trenches, and tanks were all placed to cover anything that would come across the bridge. A soldier looking at the other side of the bridge noticed something through the morning mist. Enemy tanks on the other side of the river!! A large enemy tank got onto the bridge. Their tank, an A1 tank, situated right on the exit of the bridge aimed towards the enemy tank on the other side. Before it could open fire with its 75mm gun, the enemy tank took it out in one hit to the front. The 3rd Blitzpanzer Division''s Knight tank continued down the bridge after destroying the humans puny metal box that could barely be called a tank. Machine gunfire from the human positions was completely futile as the Knight pushed aside the destroyed human tank blocking the way. It was met with many humans puny metal boxes that tried to destroy it with their puny little guns. The entire detachment was wiped out as tanks from the 3rd Blitzpanzer Division poured in. The Knights greatly outclassed the A1s. The shells fired by the A1s exploded on the Knights armor and did nothing. The Knights could destroy the A1s in a single shot to the front of it. The Stallions with their fast firing 20mm guns quickly overran any human infantry position. 0246 March 28th, 2020 CE 0423 Start 58th, 196 AE First Army Headquarters Colonel Donatus despaired at the news. Almost all the bridges on the east and west of the Verona River have been taken. The only reason the central bridges were holding was that the enemy had been held back by Lieutenant Colonel Primis. Military Advisor Caius had finally agreed to blow up the central bridges. We should have blown up all of them! What was the Military Advisor thinking! 1040 March 29th, 2020 CE 0820 Start 29th, 196 AE Abellinum There were no further attacks for two days. However, this didnt mean that they could just pull out. With the bridge blown up behind them, they had nowhere to retreat to. Leonid hoped that the 52nd Infantry Regiment was able to get across and blow the bridge up. There were no magrams in the city so he couldnt contact them to make sure. Right now, the enemy was right outside the city ready to run them over the moment they saw the chance to. For Leonid, these two days were good rest for his men. This changed on the third day. 0550 March 30th, 2020 CE 0555 Start 30th, 196 AE In addition to the 1st Blitzpanzer Corp, the 3rd Magipanzer Corps, 9th Infantry Corps, and 15th Infantry Corps were situated right out of Anbellium, Lieutenant Colonel Balra, Biphine, and Waesnon, I demand an explanation of why you are all still outside of the city. Ara speaks up. General Sarxina, human resistance is too stiff. Too stiff? Multiple tanks were lost in trying to breach the defenses of the city. Im requesting an artillery bombardment of the city and then tanks supported by infantry to go in. General of the Panzers Sarxina sighed as he looked at the other two Lieutenant Colonels. A few minutes later After talking with the General of the Central Army, General of the Panzers Sarxina returned to them. Bombardment will begin within 30 minutes. Then Fortress and Knight tanks will be sent in along with infantry. Once we secure the city, we will reorganize and begin for a push past the river. Yes sir! 0650 March 30th, 2020 CE 0625 Start 30th, 196 AE 105mm light howitzers and 150mm heavy howitzers lined the grassy plains outside of Anbellium. They were all from the artillery regiments in the infantry and magipanzer corps. An officer beside one of the artillery flipped open his pocket watch. FIRE! Leonid was playing cards inside the tavern with his three captains when he heard a whistling noise. ...ARTILLERY GET DOWN! The men in the tavern all hit the ground. The ground shook as multiple explosions occurred outside. A soldier came rushing in. Lieutenant Colonel! We are being bombarded by artillery! It''s quite obvious! Im asking what we should do?! Get in cover! What else?! A shell landed nearby, collapsing a part of the tavern. 15 minutes later, silence filled the air as the explosions stopped. A couple of people were coughing from the dust gathered up by the collapse. Leonid got up and dusted himself. Is everyone fine? Yes. Minor scratches. I think I broke my leg! Medic! Leonid looked left to right at all of his men in the tavern. They looked back at him. This is it, men. Its possible to expect an all-out assault. The main enemy army is probably here. This is where we make our last stand. FOR THE IMPERIUM! FOR THE IMPERIUM! Leonid grabbed his officer pistol. He looked at his captains. Lets go. I hope Lars is watching us. He is. Let''s show these invaders what it means to mess with us. 0720 March 30th, 2020 CE 0640 Start 30th, 196 AE Fortress tanks with platoons of infantry crowded behind them entered through many of the entrances to the city. The already bombed city was further reduced to rubble by the artillery bombardments. They cleared any building that hadn''t been reduced to rubble. The buildings on the outer part of the city were completely vacant. On one of the roads, the Fortress tank was coming up to its first intersection. It stopped and the infantry behind it advanced forward. They had learned from the earlier attempts made by the Blitzpanzer Corps that the humans liked to hide their anti-tank guns where intersections were in order to surprise any tanks that tried to go past. An infantryman looks over the corner to see the massive 155mm artillery cannon being operated by multiple humans. It seemed to have survived the earlier bombardment unscratched. The elven infantrymen rushed up and fired upon the artillery crew that was expecting another tank to come through. A firefight ensued as the panicked artillery crew fired back at the elven infantrymen. Elven submachine guns greatly outclassed the rifles that the humans had. Suffering only some casualties, the artillery was neutralized. Behind them, their tank proceeded forward. The Fortress rumbled forward as elves behind it followed. All of a sudden, rapid-firing could be heard and the elves behind the tank were struck and killed. It came from one of the closest intact buildings. Machine gun in that building! The elves peppered the building where the firing came from with their rifles and submachine guns. The Fortress slowly traversed its turret and raised its gun towards the building and destroyed the front portion of it with a high explosive shell. Clear those buildings! A platoon commander motioned for his soldiers to spread out and look through the buildings for any possible humans. An elf kicked open a door to one of the buildings and was met with a hailstorm of bullets before dying. The other elves around him stuck to the side of the building to avoid the bullets. The elf closest to the door threw a grenade into the building. Seconds later, an explosion occurred. They rushed into the building to find the blown bits of some humans. Clear. In another building, an elf looked through the second floor. He opened a door and is met with a knife aimed straight at his throat. Hand to hand combat and gunfights ensued throughout the city in many of the buildings. Clearing the city took nearly an entire day. 0844 March 30th, 2020 CE 0722 Start 30th, 196 AE Leonid held tight on his pistol as he crouched behind a flipped over table in the room. A couple of other men were with him. Proclus, Aulus, and Agrippa were probably already dead but he would be joining them soon. He heard the door to the building being opened. He looked over the table Ready men? The soldiers around him nodded. Time seemingly slowed down as footsteps drew near to the door to the room he was in. He saw the doorknob slowly turn. Fire! Leonid and the soldiers around him shot multiple times at the door before stopping. Leonid saw something being thrown in. The object clinked on the ground. Grenade! Get down! Leonid ducked behind the table as the grenade exploded. Leonids vision shook and his ears rang. Firing broke out as his surviving men tried to kill those that were entering. Leonid once again looked up from his table and started shooting. He felt intense pain on his right arm and fell over. Another grenade went off in the room. 0900 March 30th, 2020 CE 0730 Start 30th, 196 AE Elven infantry completely occupied the city. All the human defenders had fought to the last man. The General of the Central Army was sitting in his chair resting when a soldier came with a magiradio report. General! The battle is finished! We have cleared the entire city. Good. How did it go? As of right now, we are estimated to have around a couple of hundred casualties. A couple hundred?! Sir, the humans fought to the end. There must have been a regiment sized force defending the city. Some humans might have escaped into the mountains but there shouldn''t be much. No matter. Did we receive the reports on how the Western and Eastern Armies are? Yes, sir. We did. They took their side of the bridges less than two days ago. They captured many human soldiers and have disposed of them. The advanced landing grounds have also been set up behind us and are ready. Well, it seems like we are behind. We should arrive at our bridge within two days if things go smoothly. Magiradio them that we are not ready yet. Yes, sir! (Six days ago) 1346 March 24th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. In the White House, the elven invasion of the Magus had become a rather major problem. President Haye was discussing the current situation with his staff. More information about the elves had come in. He questioned Secretary of State Clifford about her meeting with the Magusian diplomats. What does the diplomat from the Magus have to say? When we questioned them, they said that they didn''t know why the elves are invading them. Have they requested our help? None at all. They even said that they were doing fine when I asked if they needed assistance. President Haye looked over to Secretary of Defense Roberts. Cralson, what information do we have on these elves? The images we have taken of the Elven Continents have confirmed that they are a World War 2 level nation. Their tanks and planes are eerily similar to the ones used by Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany? From the images, we have seen what seems to be Tiger Is and Stukas. Any explanation for that similarity? The only sensible thing that we could come up with is that the technological development of the elves coincidentally went on a similar path as Germany. All other ideas sound straight out of science fiction. We got transported to another world. The science fiction ideas might be plausible at this point. Hell, fantasy is even plausible. These are elves we are talking about. In addition, Mr. President, we did notice a difference between Nazi Germany and the elves. The navy of the elves is much more numerous than that of Nazi Germany. The elves seem to have a lot of World War 2 era aircraft carriers. Makes sense seeing that they are an island nation like Japan. The most concerning part comes from the drones that we sent to observe the battles. What information did we get? The elves are burning entire towns to the ground. They might be massacring humans. Here are some of the photos that were taken from the RQ-170. The RQ-170 was a stealth recon drone used by the United States. In order to avoid detection by possible elven radar, stealth was needed for observing the elves. Closing his eyes, the President sighed. We are definitely going to need more units in the Mach. Diplomacy with the elves will be very dangerous. Our best option is to make contact with the elves on the sea and hope they wont shoot at our ships. Should we even try to make diplomatic contact? They will most likely open fire the moment we get close. They also seem just like the Nazis from our world. These actions are basically crimes against humanity. We need to demand that they stop their actions right now. How about this, we send a carrier strike group to the nearest group of elven ships to try to establish contact. If they do something threatening, we shelve this diplomacy thing. That will give us justification for a war against the elves. Something AirsoftAL recommended that I do but I didn''t. I still find it funny so I''m writing it down here. This is not an actual part of the novel. In the White House, the elven invasion of the Magus had become a rather major problem. President Haye was discussing the current situation with his staff. "Mr. President, they are invading the Magus!" "Don''t care" "B..but sir! People are being massacred." "Meh." "Sir, they are Nazis!" <<<"Over there" starts playing">>> RonTheBlackCat https://youtu.be/nsGB98myVIw Over There Nightcore (Recommended to me by AirsoftAL) Magus A1 tank Picture From Wikipedia Elven Fortress Tank'' Picture From Wikipedia Elven Interlude RonTheBlackCat Here''s more about the elves. A bit of background and some stuff. America is coming very soon! Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/JTUSkI-v2LU Rise of Evil by Sabaton "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons." - Winston Churchill 150 years ago Afvalin, Elven Nation The moon shined brightly over the seemingly quiet city. The king was tired. Another day dealing with the nobles across his country and making deals with the human countries. These human countries were a bit troublesome but he had been able to keep a relatively stable peace with them through trade and various other diplomatic activities. It was quite beneficial in some ways too. The resources provided by humans had greatly improved the economy. Of course, some of the nobles had demanded an invasion of the humans to take their resources. An invasion of the human countries was preposterous. Due to the vast number of them, along with the time and resources required, would make such an operation impossible. A servant quickly burst through the doors to his throne room. Your highness! What is it? You didnt even knock. Im sorry, your highness but this is of great urgency! We have a rebellion on our hands! The king was surprised. A rebellion? During these times? The economy was doing great. Who would lead a rebellion during such prosperous times? Where is this happening? They have stormed multiple barracks in our city and taken them by surprise! How... The king sighed as he realized something. This was his fault. In such peaceful times, he had neglected the military. Underfunded and barely trained, they were more like a peacekeeping force for the country. In the past three decades, there were no signs of threats. The human countries loved elven technology and trade. The elven economy benefited from trade with humans. This led to a golden age for the elves. However, there were some of those who were unhappy with the humans. The fact that the humans were treated as equals seemed to disgust them. The king had paid them no mind. They couldnt possibly rebel when times were so good. No one would support them. With the king thinking that there was no possibility of rebellion or invasion by the humans, slowly he cut off military spending and management. Now it was backfiring on him. Alert the military commanders and palace guards of the current situation! Send word out to all remaining barracks and soldiers under our control to prepare for battle! Understood your highness! Twenty minutes later The sound of marching feet resounded outside of the palace. The king looked out from his balcony to witness seemingly hundreds of torches marching towards the palace. The sound of boots slamming down in perfect unison indicated that whoever was trying to take over had trained their men for some time. Where are the soldiers?! We have sent a messenger car to the remaining barracks, your highness. They arent going to get here in time. Are the palace guards ready? The guards have closed the gates, your highness. In mere minutes, the gates to the palace were breached. Using artillery captured from nearby barracks, the rebels gained entry to the palace. Fighting raged in front of the palace as the king and his family was guided towards an escape route in the palace. Your highness, our soldiers are on the other side to receive you. Many minutes later The king walked out of the concealed hole on the side of a hill a few miles from the palace. Kingdom soldiers with swords appeared out of the dark to greet him. Your highness! Thank goddess you are safe! We immediately came from our barracks the moment we heard about it. The rest of the Kings family appeared out of the hole. Come on lets go. The soldier beckoned him forward and the king walked towards them. The king then noticed the sword that the soldier was holding. It was dripping with blood. The king stopped a few feet from the soldier. Something wasnt right. The kings eyes widened as he felt immense pain in his stomach. The king looked down to see a sword in his stomach. He finally noticed what was wrong. Normal soldiers only had rifles. Swords werent something that a soldier was equipped with. The king collapsed as his family behind him screamed in fear. Just before the Elven invasion of the Magus In one of the many streets of the capital of the Elven Nation, a boy happily skipped down the street to his house. He had just witnessed the awesome National Military parade that indicated the start of their rightful place in the whole world. He was even able to see their leader, son of their savior, who would lead them to prosperous elven world order. He was extremely curious about the barbarians that resided in the rest of the world. Right now, he just couldnt wait for the elvens hammer of justice to strike down those inferiors. There was also a probability that he would be able to see a human. He had heard of plans to bring some back to serve as slaves like the inferiors they are. He was excited to see the inferiors that his teachers had talked so much about. Many many years ago he had learned in school about the existence of humans and the wider world. Then he had learned about the inferiority of humans. From his science classes, he had learned that humans had shorter lifespans, weaker magic, and inferior technology. Their shorter lifespans and weaker magic were a clear indication that they were not the blessed beings of this planet. They were a deformed evil being. Their inferior technology also showed how barbarian they were and how inferior they were to the elves. In history class, he had learned about the stupidity of the one who had ruled when the Elven Nation was called the Elven Kingdom. The last of the elven kings had listened and was even welcoming to the humans because of how much benefit the humans had brought to him. The humans promised riches, women, and personal benefits to the king so that the king would allow them to steal elven technology. The common elves suffered greatly because of the humans. Society and economy fell apart because of human influence. It sounded ridiculous to him. How stupid was that last king? When the elves had discovered the humans by sailing to them, the humans acted like cavemen and had technology comparable to the Ages of Iron. They should have subjugated them. The technology given to them by the last elven king elevated the humans power to the point of being comparable to the elves. The last king had brainwashed much of the elves to think that these vile beings were friends. The economy started to collapse after that. Then in 50 AE, the wise elves who saw through the treachery such as their savior Ayre Venharice led a glorious revolution, overthrew the corrupt king, and threw the barbaric humans out of the continent after a magnificent battle that crushed the humans. Most would think that after that the brainwashed elves would come to their senses but even now some of the older generations were still the same. They still said stuff that the last elven king wasnt so bad. His school has taught him to pity those of the older generation because they did not understand that they had been exploited. There were efforts to reeducate the older generations but it wasnt always successful. These still brainwashed were looked at with distrust and pity by everyone. The boy entered his house and happily went to his mother to tell her about the great news. She was busy cooking up dinner so she wasnt able to attend the parade. Todays dinner was supposed to be mainly some type of fish with bread and some meat. Fish was something that the boy has constantly been eating. It was most likely because they lived underwater in an air bubble so that food was mainly fish. Of course, there were places where cattle and crops were raised. He hoped that once the continent surfaces that he could have more meat and crops. The land taken from the humans would definitely allow this to happen At the beginning of the Elven invasion of the Magus Tarron Venharice looked through the folders on his desk. Behind him was the flag of his country. Red in the background with a blazing yellow sun in the middle and a black cross on it. The folders he was looking at were details of massive projects. Superweapons. Some percentage of the national budget and various top minds of the country were working on these. Their newest super tanks, super planes, and much much more. Some of these projects were even finished. These were very important. Sure they were winning right now against the humans but that might not hold true in the near future. Tarron understood that the humans greatly outnumbered the elven population and that at some point the number of humans could become unbearable for the National Military. The usage of these weapons would allow them to counter the humans quantity with much superior quality. They would also cover for any possible surprises that the humans could throw at them. His scientists and experts had, for the most part, accurately predicted the technological level of the humans. Of course, there was a great disparity in technology between different continents of the humans as shown by the less developed Kingdoms. This wasnt worrying since to his knowledge, there was also no possibility of humans more advanced than the Empire. After defeating the Empire, there would only be even more inferior humans left to deal with. The superweapons were also meant to combat a possibly more dangerous enemy. Tarron only believes a possibly more dangerous enemy because they might not even exist. There were many ancient Elven prophecies of the appearance of horned beasts in the far future with terrifying weapons. The truth of these prophecies was very dubious. However, it gave him more excuses for creating the superweapons so he was okay with them. A thing that had interested him about the Empire was their change in flag. The documented flag of the Empire had a blue crown in the middle of a black cross with a white background. Now the Empires flag had changed in a minor way. Instead of the blue crown, it now had two blue swords crossing each other on a blue pentagram. The pentagram represented magic so that could explain the change. From reports, the Empire was using magic. That magic was definitely stolen from the elves. However, it was a very inferior magic. They didnt seem to have invented the magibattery yet. Such a wondrous invention. It meant that the elves didnt need to find resources to power their vehicles or factories to make ammunition. The mana that the elves have could be poured and mixed with others mana into a magibattery. Of course, it had many flaws and still needed more development. A living body was still the perfect vessel for the usage of mana. The magibattery could only be used for simple things like power, signal waves, and being able to become dense enough to be used as ammunition. It also had a limit of mana it could carry and it wore down quite quickly which caused it to need constant replacement. The perfect magibattery would be one that has no limit in mana, no need for replacement, and an ability to do the things an elf can with their mana. That kind magibattery was very far in the future. It might not even be possible but if his scientists could figure it out, the elves would be unstoppable. Another flaw in the magibattery was the way it was used as ammunition. Next to the main gun, there was a mana densifier connected to the magibattery. The speed of the reload depended on the shell size. The bigger and more powerful the shell was, the more time it took to form. If they could make the mana densifier faster, they could greatly increase the rate of fire for the medium and heavy tanks. A weapon with the power of a tank cannon and the fire rate of a machine gun would be terrifying. Scientists were trying to find ways to do so but there has yet to be much progress. Yet another flaw of the magibattery was the lack of efficiency. It took multiple elves to fill up one which would only last a few hours depending on the consumption rate of the machine. The more complex or heavier the machine, the shorter amount of time it had to run on a single magibattery. For example, the pilots on their planes could refill theirs in flight by using all their mana but it would only last on average at most another 30 minutes before it was out of power. An elfs mana took many hours to recharge. It varied from elf to elf. Well, in the end, the fate of the human species had been decided the moment the elven continent surfaced. When his father and Great Magus were still alive, they would plan and discuss weapon development and strategies. The Great Magus was a genius at weapons development. Most of the current and future weapons were designed by him. However, he denied his genius and called it visions given to him by their gracious goddess, the Mother of all Elves. This was all for the invading humans. Tarrons father, Ayre Venharice, held extreme hate of the humans. His hate and belief that the humans were inferior to elves were shared by his son. The humans are finished. Chapter 30 – The Situation At Sea RonTheBlackCat Hmmmmm... I think I could have done this naval battle better. Many times, I have had constant thoughts about just stopping and rewriting everything from scratch but decided against it. However, I will definitely do a rewrite after this ends. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/74wVlwRBoO0 Midway by Sabaton "Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid." - Ronald Reagan 0858 March 23rd, 2020 CE 0729 Start 23rd, 196 AE In the ocean between the Soane League and Magus Imperium The six submarines of the Magusian 9th Submarine Squadron neared the seas where there were reports of enemy ships. Their mission was to infiltrate and sink the enemy convoys. It seemed to be quite simple. When they got to the area where enemy warships patrolled, they would submerge and slip past them. Magusian submarines were more submersibles than true submarines. This meant that they operated mostly on the surface and only submerged to avoid detection or to sneak up on enemies. They had to surface to recharge their batteries. Commander Kaius Merula was the commander of one of the six submarines of the 9th Submarine Squadron. He looked out towards the sea through his periscope. Turning it, he noticed something on the horizon. Enemy warships. Seems to be a group of destroyers. Running up to an enemy patrol already was not a good sign. It was quite lucky that they had already submerged. There shouldnt be any way for the enemies to detect them. Just in case, he ordered his submarine to dive deeper. In an elven destroyer, a sonarman stared intently at his equipment before looking up. Captain, our sonar is picking up a lot of pings. There could be a group of submarines nearby. The Captain stared intently at the equipment. Cant be ours. We dont have any assigned here. Fire the depth charges. Sudden explosions rocked Merulas submarine. The crew was confused. How were they detected? They werent on the surface. These were the last thoughts of the crew. A massive explosion split the submarine in two. 0524 March 24th, 2020 CE 0542 Start 24th, 196 AE Magus Combined Task Force There were reports from patrolling elven submarine and destroyer squadrons of a large Empire fleet approaching the route the elven convoys took to get to the Empire. With this, the Elven Navy decided that this was their chance to wipe out the human navy. Wolfpacks of submarines were gathered to harass and sink as many human ships in that fleet as possible. In addition, a fleet of 3 carriers, 5 battleships, 11 cruisers, and 21 destroyers was also gathered to face off against the human fleet. The plan to stop the elven convoys by using submarines failed completely. The submarines were somehow easily detected and sunk by the elven warships. Admiral Manius Vedius had been ordered to lead a large fleet in an effort to stop any Elven ship from getting to the mainland. It had been finally confirmed that the enemies they were facing off against were elves. Admiral Vedius was not at all confident of his victory. He understood that they were facing a super-advanced civilization. The only reason that the Magus Imperium had their current technology was because of the elves. The elves now might even have the same technological capabilities that the Americans had. He had read about what happened in the American-Mach War. What happened to the Mach will probably now happen to them. But he still had a duty to do and he wouldnt just run away because he was scared. More than half of the Magusian Navy was dispatched to destroy any Elven naval assets in the seas which the elves were using to transport their units. 14 pre-dreadnought battleships, 5 dreadnoughts, 20 cruisers, and 50 destroyers were gathered to try to stop the elves. A massive explosion rocked the MIS (Magus Imperium Ship) Honor, a heavy cruiser, and a water plume rose from its port. More explosions occurred on other ships. Admiral! Multiple ships are reported to be taking on water because of torpedo attacks! We are being attacked by submarines! Where are they? We are looking around the ocean but we cant see any, sir. Drop the depth charges! Massive plumes of water rose as Magusian ships dropped the explosives into the ocean. 0200 March 26th, 2020 CE 0400 Start 26th, 196 AE In the ocean between the Elven Continent and Magus Imperium The depth charges seemed ineffective. The fleet was harassed by Elven submarines many times. By the third day, they had lost 15 destroyers and 8 cruisers. Because the dreadnoughts and pre-dreadnoughts were at the very center of the massive formation, they were more protected and none were sunk. 0904 March 26th, 2020 CE 0732 Start 26th, 196 AE Elven Interception Fleet Admiral Edyrm Vaynore looked as one of his staff pushed a couple of red blocks on the map towards a couple of blue blocks. Earlier scoutings from elven destroyers have allowed an estimation of the whereabouts of the human fleet. We should now be getting close to the human fleet. Our submarines should have whittled them down a bit. They will be in range of our aircraft in less than 15 minutes. Admiral Vaynore narrowed his eyes and drew a circle on the map with his fleet at the center. Recon. 1024 March 26th, 2020 CE 0812 Start 26th, 196 AE Recon aircraft had finally found the human fleet. The fleet was well within the range of the elven planes. Airmen ran towards their aircraft on the decks of the aircraft carriers. Torpedo bombers, dive bombers, and fighters were all loaded up and ready. One by one, the aircraft took off from the decks of the aircraft carriers and into the sky. 36 torpedo bombers and 36 dive bombers escorted by 36 fighters. 108 total aircraft. 1100 March 26th, 2020 CE 0830 Start 26th, 196 AE Magus Combined Task Force Enemy aircraft! A sailor shouted at the top of his lungs on the MIS Caelus, the dreadnought that Admiral Vedius was on. Vedius was surprised. It didnt make sense at all. How was there enemy aircraft in the middle of the ocean? Then he remembered that the Americans also had the same capability The 3-inch anti-aircraft guns on the dreadnought opened up towards the swarm of approaching planes. The destroyers and cruisers on the outer part of the group and have anti-aircraft guns had already started opening fire. The first formations of aircraft that approached were biplanes. They started to seemingly skim the water. One of the Elven aircraft was hit as it got close. A flame appeared on its tail and it crashed into the water. A few seconds later, objects detached from the bottom of the first formation of aircraft and hit the water. Explosions ripped two of the destroyers apart. Admiral, they are dropping torpedos! Shoot down as many of them as possible! Almost all of the Elven aircraft were able to drop their torpedoes. Only a few were shot down. Multiple destroyers and cruisers had been hit and were sinking. No evasive maneuvers were performed by the ships since they werent prepared for air attacks in the middle of the sea. More formations of biplanes came and wreaked havoc. A different type of formation approached. They were monoplanes. This time, instead of dropping low onto the water, it continued at its high altitude. The aircraft started a steep dive down towards them. What do we do?! Evasive maneuvers! Avoid them! These aircraft seemed to be aiming at the larger ships. Bombs dropped from them. The lumbering dreadnoughts and pre-dreadnoughts couldnt avoid them. An explosion rocked the top of a dreadnought and dark smoke plumed into the sky. More explosions rocked the same ship. Admiral! The MIS Tiberius is being abandoned! Why?! They arent sinking. The conning tower has been destroyed and the guns are completely disabled. The planes buzzed around the fleet like flies around garbage. The Magusian ships had too few or zero anti-aircraft guns. Even the dreadnoughts only had two anti-aircraft guns aboard each. The Elven aircraft waves stopped and the chaos subsided. Damage report! How many ships did we lose? The men in the brig of the MIS Caelus started receiving these reports. An officer quickly read out the compiled information to the Admiral. Four pre-dreadnoughts were sunk, a dreadnought was disabled, three cruisers were sunk, six destroyers were sunk, and a dreadnought was heavily damaged but can continue. Some other ships received light damages Rescue the survivors. Admiral Vedius was visibly upset. Almost half of the fleet was sunk. And it wasnt even because of naval battles. It was from attacks from submarines or aircraft. They only had 10 pre-dreadnoughts, 4 dreadnoughts, 9 cruisers, and 29 destroyers left. The Admiral looked out towards his sinking ships. They had only shot down 2 planes. We are turning around. Set a course back to port. But sir, what about the mission? This entire fleet will be sunk before we can even actually engage the enemy or their convoys. Send a report to HQ. Tell them we are taking too many losses and that we are returning. 1124 March 26th, 2020 CE 0842 Start 26th, 196 AE Anti-aircraft guns from the destroyers one the outer part of the fleet started again. More aircraft! They were subjected to the same hell they had experienced before. 1124 March 26th, 2020 CE 0842 Start 26th, 196 AE Elven Interception Fleet Reports from our aircraft indicate that the human fleet has turned around. Admiral Veynore watched as his staff pushed the blue blocks away and the red blocks forward on the map. He looked up after thinking for a little while. Pursue them. Admiral, we will be within firing distance in fifteen minutes. Good. 1154 March 26th, 2020 CE 0857 Start 26th, 196 AE Magus Combined Task Force Ships spotted on the horizon! After the second air attack, the Magus fleet had begun limping back to port. The second attack reduced their numbers to 7 pre-dreadnoughts, 4 dreadnoughts, 7 cruisers, and 24 destroyers. Many of their ships were damaged. They had downed some more aircraft but it didnt really matter. The 3 aircraft carriers were left a bit behind the rest of the Elven fleet since they were only meant for air support. In a straight line, the battleships, cruisers, and destroyers ran parallel to the human fleet formations. Two of the battleships were Venharice-class battleships. The other three were the older but still very new Alinar-class battleships which were named after the former Great Magus. Admiral Vedius stood with eyes wide open as he looked at the Elven battleships he faced. They were much larger than any battleship in the Maguss arsenal. The three triple 11-inch guns of the Alinar-classes, the four twin 15-inch guns of the Venharice-classes, and the heavy cruisers opened up in a salvo. Admiral Vedius watched as the shells came flying towards his fleet. The five twin 12-inch guns of the Maguss newest dreadnoughts were not close enough to hit their targets so his fleet was turning towards the elven firing line in order to get closer. He heard the whistling of the shells as they got closer. His dreadnought was lucky since it was at the front of the other dreadnoughts and pre-dreadnoughts. The elves seemed to have targeted the middle of the fleet. The shells rocked his fleet. A turret blew off from one of the pre-dreadnoughts in a massive explosion. The conning tower of a dreadnought was seemingly leveled. Multiple other ships that were hit suffered horrifying damage. The Elven destroyers loosed their torpedoes as they got closer. No torpedo trails could be seen. The agility and torpedo range of the Elven destroyers prevented them from being easily attacked by the human cruisers and destroyers. Some of the torpedoes slammed into the human destroyers. The human fleet seemed to be doing a suicidal last dash towards the Elven fleet. The battleships and the cruisers opened up a second salvo towards the humans fleet. Admiral Vediuss ship was miraculously still floating after his fleet was pummeled two times. Now the remainder of his ships faced off against the Elven fleet which was now within his fleets firing range. His pummeled fleet numbered only 3 pre-dreadnoughts, 2 dreadnoughts, 4 cruisers, and 16 destroyers. Most of them have suffered some damage. The bigger ships opened fire as the destroyers attempted to get closer in order to get the enemies into torpedo range. A shell struck the Garrick, one of the Alinar-class battleships, and did some damage. Most shells missed. An elven cruiser was struck and suffered heavier damages. Another salvo came again from the elven fleet. This time Admiral Vediuss ship wasnt as lucky. The MIS Caelus was struck multiple times and its entire deck seemed to be leveled. With this, the morale of the Magus fleet plummeted. Their ships had been torn apart and they had only inflicted very minor damage to the enemy. Some started to flee. Others decided to die for their country. Elven Interception Fleet Damage report? Minor damages to the Garrik and the Sanev. We also lost two destroyers. Should we pursue the fleeing enemy? We should be able to outmatch their speed. Admiral Vaynore shook his head. Those that flee are cowards and cowards are beneficial to us. Let them spread the word of their defeat. The humans shall tremble before our might. Vaynore closed his eyes. That was the signal that the operation was over. Chapter 31 – Bait Operation RonTheBlackCat I''m very sorry about the recent lack of America! I have seen everyone''s complaints and thought over it. I made a mistake. I wanted to show more of the perspective of the natives and hype stuff up but I overdid it. I just felt that everything was going too fast and decided to take this approach to slow down a bit. From now on there won''t be any long arcs from the natives'' perspectives. From this chapter onwards, almost everything will be about America unless absolutely necessary. I''m sorry! Please forgive me! >_< Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/8R77XN_rFh0 Don''t Tread On Me by Metallica "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of all who threaten it." - US Navy April 1st, 2020 CE Sun 1st, 196 AE Primopolis Emperor Arstant was with his advisors again. We are receiving requests for assistance from the Soane League. The Soane League Army is in tatters. In our situation, we cant do much. If the First and Fourth Army can push back these elves, then we can probably send reinforcements. The Kingdom of Albea is the frontline now for them. The Subican Kingdom has bowed down and allowed the elves to occupy them as allies. So far the three kingdoms nearest to the Elven continent have been defeated. Have the United Beastmen Kingdom sent their soldiers yet? The soldiers that the United Beastmen Kingdom sent to assist couldnt beat these elves. There wasnt much hope for the Soane League at this point. The United Beastmen Kingdom had the strongest soldiers in the Soane League. The Subican Kingdom was the most powerful kingdom in the Soane League. The Emperor sighed as he looked at the map. Why did this have to happen at this time? The collapse of the Mach was supposed to be the end of all the problems that the Magus faced. Now, these elves just had to come back to disturb the sweet peace that was finally accomplished after more than a century of on and off wars. Military Advisor Caius looked towards the Emperor who was becoming visibly upset. Dont worry your majesty, the First and Fourth Army will begin their offensive soon. The bridges may be lost but we can use them as chokepoints. 2001 March 21st, 2020 CE Nashville, Tennessee <<>> Jack sighed. Most recent news was either minor domestic things or overall information on this world. Sometimes there were interesting major domestic incidents but that couldnt replace the volume of news before the US was transported to this world. This world didnt have the interconnectivity of the last. The internet also looked quite bleak. Although it was still running and all fine, quite a lot of the content was gone. 1509 March 24th, 2020 CE <<< The White House has confirmed that the continent is inhabited by a nation of elves. They are also reported to be currently invading the Magus Imperium and the kingdoms on the Soane continent. The White House has not released any information about what they plan to do about this>>> 0814 March 27th, 2020 CE 0729 Start 57th, 196 AE Off the coast of the Soane continent The USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group were sailing past the north coast of the Soane continent towards the eastern tip of it. Washington had learned about the elven invasion of the Soane continent from the Magusian diplomats and decided that it was the best place to initiate contact. Other than the aircraft carrier, the carrier strike group consisted of two Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers, six Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, and a Virginia-class submarine. This large group was meant to be seen as intimidating. Basically it was gunboat diplomacy. If they could force these Nazis to give in, the problem would be solved. The elven naval presence near the Soane continent was light seeing that the Kingdoms werent much of a threat to them. However, this didnt mean that there were no elven units there. The carrier strike group was fast approaching a formation of what was believed to be an elven naval formation. The 22nd Elven Destroyer Squadron, consisting of 10 elven destroyers, patrolled a large chunk of the ocean near the Soane continent. This was in order to stop any human ships from slipping in or out. The radar on the destroyers indicated a large formation of ships approaching them at a high speed. When the commander of the destroyer squadron, Captain Neldor Ralovalur, received this report, he was very surprised. Change into a defensive formation. The Kingdoms shouldnt have any ships that could threaten them but he immediately ordered this just in case it was an actual threat. These ships definitely seemed to know where the Elven destroyers were. This could have possibly been another elven naval squadron but there wasnt supposed to be another this far out. A few minutes later Massive ships came out of the horizon towards them. Unknown ships spotted starboard! Neldor took out his binoculars and focused on the ships. His eyes widened in shock as he said this to the others in the brig. Seems to be an aircraft carrier and eight cruisers. Not only was there an aircraft carrier that was not Elven, but it was also a ridiculous size. Ours, captain? Just to be sure, Captain Ralovalur looked at the giant flags of the ships. There were stripes going top to down with an alternating red and white pattern. On the top, left corner of it was a blue rectangle with white stars covering it. Doesnt seem like it. Captain Ralovalurs mind was racing. As far as he knew, only they should have the technological capability to build and operate aircraft carriers. The human Empires navy was swept aside in a grand naval battle just a few days ago. And the humans didnt have a single aircraft carrier. If the Empire, the supposedly most advanced civilization of humans, didnt have aircraft carriers, then what nation was this? Was this one of the other intelligent species? The beastmen? The dwarves? They shouldnt have the capability to build these either. According to history, the various beastmen kingdoms had been warring with the humans forever and were equally matched with the Kingdoms. The dwarves were not really plausible since they lived on the Insula Continent which was quite far away. They were also isolationists. There was also a bunch of other intelligent species but their technological capabilities were a joke. While they were in a line formation, the unknown ships ran parallel to them in a spread-out formation. The massive aircraft carrier was in the middle. Apprehensively, Captain Ralovalur watched as something lifted off of the aircraft carrier. Get the anti-aircraft guns up. According to the rangefinders, the weird flying contraption with a propeller on top hovered outside the effective firing range of the destroyers AA guns. It stayed there. After a few minutes, a voice seemingly came out of it. ...thing on? Oh oops There was silence again. This is the United States Navy. Our fleet has been dispatched under orders of the Government of the United States of America, a human government, to make diplomatic contact. Please send only a single small expedition boat forward for negotiations. We will send one of ours too. The announcer on the Seahawk equipped with the Long Range Acoustic Device didnt quite understand why he was ordered to specifically say a human government but he went along with it. The flying contraption was somehow projecting a voice. It was the human Empire language. Captain Ralovalur understood the Empire language. He was taught it in school because it was essential for an elf to understand their future slaves. What really got his attention was the phrase human government. Neldor looked at the massive human ships again. They stayed very far away but were still visible. He looked closely at all the cruisers. They may be the size of cruisers but they only had one to two puny singular guns at most on each of them. They seemed like old destroyers made to look like modern cruisers. Who were the humans trying to fool with this underhanded and obvious trickery? Their aircraft carrier might look big but it must also be a fake. They are humans, prepare to attack! Are you sure sir? We are only a destroyer squadron and they have cruisers. Do not fear. Those ships may be the size of cruisers but they are only armed as well as an old destroyer. I can only see a small singular gun on most of them. They are staying far away in order to keep up this fake image. Get us in range of the human fleet and annihilate them. The Seahawk hovering in the middle between the US carrier strike group and the Elven destroyer squadron waited for the elves to drop one of the small white boats that hung to the sides of the destroyers. Instead of dropping a boat, the Elven destroyers started to turn towards the US ships. The Seahawk immediately started to move back. Rear Admiral, the Elven destroyers are turning towards us. It looks like they are trying to engage us. Label them as hostile. Permission to engage is granted. Rear Admiral Halbert Johnson nodded after he said that. Just as expected. Under the sea near the Elven destroyer squadron We have permission to engage. Four Mk-48 torpedoes almost simultaneously launched out of the Virginia-class submarine. They glided quietly through the sea towards the Elven destroyers. Captain Ralovalur stared at the human fleet. His destroyer squadron had nearly finished turning. Once his ship got into firing range, the twin 5.9-inch guns would open fire. He couldnt wait for the possible promotion he would get once he claimed that he sunk a human fleet that had an aircraft carrier and cruisers. He had been a commander of only a destroyer squadron for ages. This was his one in a lifetime chance. Those were his last thoughts as his destroyer seemingly turned into a massive fireball. The Commanders of the other destroyers were stunned as they saw the lead ship and three other ships being lifted up out of the ocean and consumed in massive fireballs. The lead ship, which had their Captain onboard, was the last ship in the formation. On one of the six remaining destroyers, the destroyer Commander told the radarman and sonarman in a panic Enemies behind us! Sir, our radars arent picking up anything. Theres absolutely nothing behind us. What!? Then what sorcery was that?! At that moment, explosions seemingly occurred on all of the human cruisers. The Commanders of the destroyers quickly turned their attention to that and wondered what was happening. Did the humans blow themselves up? As the smoke on the human ships started to clear, they saw a ball of light streak towards them leaving behind a trail of clouds. What is that? The ball of light got closer and closer. The Commanders were all in fear at what the ball of light was. If it was coming towards them and were from those wretched humans, it wasnt a good thing. Similar orders rang out on all the destroyers. Evasive maneuvers! The destroyers all started turning. On one of the destroyers, a sailor closely watched the ball of light. Commander, its following us! The balls of light were not going in a straight line they were turning to wherever each destroyer had moved Impossible! What magi One of the balls of light slammed into a destroyer and seemingly vaporized it. Before long, the remaining Elven destroyers had been turned into floating scraps on the sea. Seems like diplomacy failed. Tell Washington that they took the bait. The elves acted hostile immediately once we gave them our message. Chapter 32 – PMC RonTheBlackCat I understand there isn''t much action in this one but I''m setting this up for the future. After this, it will be all action. I have already started writing Chapter 34 and I can guarantee that it''s gonna be great! Also, thanks for all the comments last chapter! I have read through them but didn''t have time to reply. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/oKW6gLLmxDQ Shiroyama by Sabaton (Best song I could find about technology XD) "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke https://youtu.be/vJk2POhCKZA Interview with the Author (Shout out to AirsoftAl for this!) After the incident between the US carrier strike group and the Elven destroyer squadron, a state of war now existed between the United States and the Elven Nation. Of course, the elves didnt know about this. The destroyer squadron that met the US carrier strike group had been sending reports back to headquarters. Their last message was saying that they were attacking a human fleet that had an aircraft carrier. When the Elven Navy Department found out that the reports from that Elven destroyer squadron ceased, they decided to cover it up. Currently, the Leader greatly favored the Army so blunders by the Navy were less tolerated. The Navy department thought that an insignificant destroyer squadron going missing shouldnt matter that much anyway. They could just send another one. 1522 March 29th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. President Haye was in a meeting about conducting this war. Secretary of State Clifford was telling him the current problems. We are trying to offer our help to the Magus but they are still not accepting. They do know that they are technologically inferior, correct? They dont acknowledge it. The President''s face distorted in discomfort and disappointment. He sighed. That''s understandable I guess. Once, being one of the two superpowers in this world, they probably aren''t willing to want help from a nation who they see as threatening that status." "From their behavior, that most likely is the reason. In their own eyes, they probably want to relish the status as the lone superpower in this world after the defeat of the Mach Imperium." The President shook his head. "Even though we were the ones who did it... how many units do we already have stationed in the Mach Imperium? In addition to the Marine Expeditionary Force, we have more than fifteen Army divisions deployed. We should have more than twenty soon. And we cant deploy any of them to the Magus Imperium until the Magus allow us to. Just great! What about the Soane League? Can we deploy units there to fight the elves? As of right now, our communication with the Soane League depends on the Magus Imperium. The Magus Imperium denied our help which means that they are also denying our help for the Soane League." Why havent we set up direct diplomacy with the individual Soan kingdoms? The Secretary of State breathed in and out lightly. It was her way of indicating that it was a rather long explanation. Sure, there are individual kingdoms but they are greatly tied together as the League. Their diplomacy outside of the Soane Continent is managed by the Soane League. And since the Soane League is greatly tied to the Magus Imperium, the Magus Imperium offered to do the Soane Leagues diplomacy for other nations. The President was exasperated at her explanation. Well, thats just not sensible! Mr. President, you have to understand, before us, there wasnt really much need for the Soane League to contact anyone else. The Bem Kingdom and Mach Imperium were their enemies. The only nation that they had to keep relations with was the Magus Imperium. The independent kingdoms on the Soane Continent decided that in order to streamline the process, diplomacy outside of the Soane Continent would be under the management of the Soane League. And since their survival depended on the Magus Imperium, the Soane Leagues diplomacy with any other nation would be managed by the Magus. Then we will have to wait until the Magusians come begging us for help? Seems like it. Secretary of Defense Roberts gave his recommendation on the matters of the war. We could stop the elves by cutting them off at sea. That will stop them from supplying their units in the Magus Imperium. The President thought about it for a bit before he said this. Lets just wait for the Magus to come begging us for help. I get the feeling that will be much more beneficial to our standing in this world. Cant let them get any more bragging rights from our accomplishments. 0450 April 2nd, 2020 CE 0525 Sun 2nd, 196 AE Central Verona River Major General Ara watched as engineers built a temporary wooden bridge in order to cross the Verona. To her right were the destroyed remains of the only bridge of the Central Verona River. She was not in a happy mood. Ara had learned that the Eastern Army and Western Army had already secured all the bridges on the eastern and western portion of the Verona. How dumb were the humans? Couldnt they have built more bridges here as they did in the East and West? The Eastern and Western Armies might finish the war before they even get to do anything. Primopolis Emperor Arstant was very worried. The speed in which the elves traveled to the Verona River indicated that they could reach Primopolis in less than a month if nothing stopped them. Your majesty, we will be beginning the counter-attack very soon. Elven units are streaming in from the bridges on the East and West Verona. The area around the bridges will be perfect for chokepoints. The First and Fourth Army will definitely push them back to the other side of the river. Central Verona River The 51st Magusian Wyvern Squadron was flying high above the Verona River. They had orders to recon the area and report back with information on enemy positions. They cruised at a low speed and enjoyed the view of the river. The lack of air attacks further from the Verona indicated that the elves didnt have the range to go beyond it. One of the wyvern pilots noticed something coming from the sun. The wyverns were in very close formation which allowed them to talk with each other. Hey, what is that up there? Hm? As they got closer, the objects became clear. Enemy aircraft! Evasive maneuvers! It was too late. Streams of magibullets from the closest Ea-192 poured into the lead wyvern. It spiraled towards the ground as both the pilot and wyvern were shredded. Less than an hour later A formation of Ea-192s came in for a landing on the Advanced Landing Grounds. The lead pilot walked down from his plane and jumped onto the ground. Another pilot, a friend of his, was there to meet them. Eltaor, how was the patrol? Eltaor laughed. Larrel, get this, the humans are actually using wyverns. They are? Yeah, my squadron ran into a human one. They didnt even see us. Shot them all out of the sky in one swoop. Talk about pathetic. Larrel nodded and his eyes sparkled as he changed the topic. Anyways, I have exciting news. Keep it a secret okay. Yeah? Larrel looked around before whispering into Eltaors ear. I got assigned to an experimental unit with a new aircraft. I heard this new aircraft wont be like any before. Its going to be faster than any normal propeller plane. That sounds great! I kind of feel envious. Wont this mean that you wont be in this unit anymore? The experimental unit is separate so probably not. Eltaor was a bit sad at this information. He didn''t want to see his best friend go. Oh well, we will see each other after this. Heck, I may even see you fly your experimental aircraft. Soane Continent The diplomat from the Subican Kingdom left. Fylson Erna, the Elven diplomat, looked at the paper in his hand. He laughed until there was no more air in his lungs. That dumb human actually accepted. He was given orders to keep at least one human country independent and as an ally. This one country was meant to be the place where the remaining humans will be stored for breeding in order to keep a supply of human slaves. The Leader wanted to exterminate the humans but thought that keeping some as slaves would be nice. Fylson decided to pick the largest country in the weakest but still developed part of the world. Luckily, the Subicans jumped on the offer since they saw the situation as hopeless. He looked at a stack of paper that gave him information about the human kingdoms. He was surprised that the beastmen were helping these humans. The beastmen were excellent warriors but still technologically inferior when compared to the elves. What also surprised him was the fact that these backwater humans even had some technology that matched the human Empire. The amphibious invasion was even fired upon by coastal artillery! He wondered if he should ask that human diplomat how they got their hands on that technology and why they were allied with the beastmen kingdoms. 0529 April 2nd, 2020 CE Miami In his office, Diplomat Underwoods phone rang. <<< Diplomat Underwood, the Magusian Ambassador is requesting a meeting. Get Hoffman down here and let them in. >>> Translator Hoffman got there just in time. Captain Raoul, Im surprised to see you here. Whos the other person? In addition to Ambassador Jacques, two other people were there. One of them was Captain Raoul, the Albean captain that initiated first contact between the United States and the rest of the world. The person beside me is Diplomat Fawkes of the Soane League. We were urgently sent here by the Council of the Soane League. What does the Soane League need? I thought you guys did your diplomacy through the Magus Imperium. Ambassador Jacques, the Magusian diplomat, interjected. My government and I do not approve of this but because Captain Raoul is a close friend of mine, I will allow it. This may make some of the nobles in my country unhappy so I hope that you can keep this a secret. Underman nodded. Of course, of course, take a seat. The Soane League Diplomat started speaking after sitting down. As you already know, Im Diplomat Fawkes of the Soane League. I was sent here by the Council of the League to request for your countys help. The Soane League is in a tough situation right now. We have received absolutely no help from the Magus Imperium. Jacques interjected again. As I said, we will come with aid after we start pushing these elves back. Captain Raoul turned to Jacques. But when will that be!? The Sabican Kingdom is in the elves pocket. My kingdom cant last any longer! The beastmen are doing their best but we are just being slaughtered on the battlefield. Ambassador Jacques sighed and stopped talking. Raoul focused his attention back to the main conversation. So you are now asking for my nations help? Yes, the Council has heard that you had offered help to the Magus Imperium against the Elves. They may have refused but we desperately need it. We are glad to help. If we can gain permission from your League for us to deploy on your land That would be a problem. Underwood raised his eyebrow. Why would that be? Raoul sighed and looked down. As you already know, the Magus Imperium doesnt really like the idea of asking others for help. The Council wasnt sure what to do but sent me anyways. If we had asked you for help and you did so, our relationship with the Magus would worsen. They would definitely see this as some sort of betrayal if we allowed you to deploy your troops on our land. Underwood looked at Jacques. The Magusian Ambassador was just staring at a wall as if he was not listening to the conversation. Jacquess hands were tied in this situation. Then how are we meant to help if your League cant even accept it. That was why I came here. I was begging Jacques if he could help us but he couldnt. He only set up a meeting with you. I didnt know what to do but I came. Underwood closed his eyes and nursed the bridge of his nose. His tone dropped. I will see what I can do. I will call you back once the decision is made. Raoul stood and bowed. Thank you. After they left, Underwood picked up his phone and dialed. <<>> Washington D.C. President Hayes was happy. The Soane League is asking for our help? Great! Lets One problem, they wont allow us to deploy on their lands. Huh? Whys that? The Secretary of State explained the situation. The happiness that lit up the Presidents face was gone after that. Ugh. Then what are we supposed tohmmm... wait I have an idea. ??? A man was leaning back on his chair while playing with a Rubix cube. The phone on the desk rang and he plucked it up. <<>> The man listened intently to the person on the other side of the phone before replying. <<>> Miami Diplomat Fawkes, we are able to help without actually deploying our own troops. Fawkes looked at Underwood quizzically. How? Underwood smiled. Are you interested in hiring some mercenaries? Hiring your military as mercenaries? No, no, no. I meant actual mercenaries. In our country we have this thing called a private military company. They are well trained and well-armed. They arent under our control so it shouldnt upset the Magus Imperium. I suppose we could hire them. Good then, we will gladly transport you to meet with them. I will get someone to guide you there. It will be a short plane ride. A few minutes later, an attendant came. As the attendant guided Captain Raoul and Diplomat Fawkes out, Underwood remembered something. One thing before you go. We are not responsible for whatever they do when they are hired. Good luck. Chapter 33 – Over There, Over There! RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/921z4LAHvak Over There "You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing - after they''ve tried everything else." - American version of Abba Eban''s words To Everyone: Thank you for getting this onto trending! Next chapter, America comes in guns blazing! 0301 April 3rd, 2020 CE 0432 Sun 3rd, 196 AE Primopolis Military Advisor Caius Igennus had been flagged down by one of his subordinates. Sir, we are receiving a lot of requests from generals that we accept the Americans offer of assistance. Caius waved him away. Nonsense, we can deal with it ourselves. We may have been pushed back to the Verona. but that was because we were unprepared. The surprise attack combined with our disarming after the defeat of the Mach Imperium were important factors in the success of the elves. Once we reorganize, we can push them out in an instance. 0926 April 3rd, 2020 CE 0743 Sun 3rd, 196 AE A few miles from the Verona In a building, a person slammed his fist on the rickety wooden table. Our wyverns are being shot out of the sky. I thought their planes didnt have the range to get here. The Elves are probably using the airfields they seized from us. Theres not enough airfields on the other side of the Verona for this magnitude of planes. Anyways, thats not important. Whats important is that without our wyverns, we have got no reconnaissance of the enemy. General, our recon cavalry are keeping an eye on any possible Elven advance. Thats not what I want to know. What I want to know is the exact positions and the number of tanks the enemy has. Only aerial recon can do that. Now, the attack will be even more dangerous if we dont have a clear picture of what exactly we are facing. The Magus First and Fourth Army were entrenched a couple of miles away from Verona. The front was split in half. The left half was under the Fourth Army while the right half was under the First. The original plan was to have the armies occupy a position right on the other side of the Verona. The loss of the forward elements, which guarded the bridges, caused that to change. A1 tanks were also being brought to the front in large numbers to prepare for the assault. General Andri of the First Army was still upset about the fact that their wyverns were being shot down but continued to plan the attack with his subordinates. Then an adjutant came rushing in. General! They are attacking our Eastern flank faster than we had expected! They havent stopped to consolidate their forces at the bridges. Our scouts have reported enemy tanks are moving towards our trenches. Verona Defense Line News of the incoming attack had spread throughout the trenches. Private Noah Gawin looked out of his trench. He had heard of the news and was waiting for it. 1000 April 3rd, 2020 CE 0800 Sun 3rd, 196 AE Nothing came. The tension that dominated the air when the news came had evaporated over time. Many thought it was a false alarm. Less than 30 minutes ago A different part of the Verona Defense Line Soldiers in the trenches looked up towards the sky as they heard a loud and terrifying howl. The enemy attack was finally here. Multiple planes were diving straight towards them. They came closer and closer as if they wanted to crash into the trenches. Then suddenly the planes arched up and multiple objects detached from them. Black dots filled the sky and struck the ground. Dirt and dust were thrown up as massive explosions occurred all around the trenches. The sirens and explosions continued as more elven magi dive bombers pummeled the trench. Men that were knocked back by the explosions lay groaning on the ground. Those that instinctively dove to the ground were in better shape. They stood up in a daze after the howling and explosions came to an abrupt stop as the elven aircraft flew away. Medic! We got wounded here! Aghhh! The bombs from the Ra-189s devastated the area around the trenches. Some tanks were turned to scrap. People were yelling to get the heavily wounded out in stretchers. Soldiers stared at the sky in fear for more enemy planes. Before long, they could hear ominous clanking noises coming from over the trenches. Tanks! Enemy tanks! Soldiers looked out of the trenches to see countless grey tanks heading straight towards them. They watched as the streaking light of a tank shell flashed towards them. Soldiers ducked back into the trench. A massive explosion destroyed one of the A1 tanks sitting behind the trench line. The booms of elven tanks firing dominated the battlefield. Back to the present A few miles from the Verona The adjutant of General Andri rushed into the headquarters again. General! We received magram reports from our frontline observers! They have broken through multiple points on the trenchline! What!? They didnt attack the entire line. They concentrated their tanks and broke through at certain points. Have they occupied those areas? Are our men in retreat? The enemy tanks didnt stop. They are continuing to push and our men were overrun. Fill the gaps immediately! We will encircle them and put them behind our lines. Sir! Enemy infantry and motorized units have prevented us from retaking the gaps. General Andri looked at his map and wondered out loud. What are they planning? The enemy had broken through many points on the trench line and sent their forces deep. But they didnt attack the entire line. Most of the trench line was still intact. The General observed the map on his table. Red lines on the map indicated where the enemies broke through. Sir, look at the distance between the points where they have broken through. General Andris eyes widened as this was brought to his attention. The breakthrough points on the map were far apart but they were at certain intervals. They are trying to encircle us! Call a general retreat! Verona Defense Line A whistle sounded. Retreat! Retreat! Private Gavin looked around confused. Nothing had happened so why were they retreating? He followed the other soldiers as they rushed out of the trench. The A1 tanks started to turn around too. 20 minutes later Private Gavin followed his platoon as they marched with the rest of the division quickly down the road. An A1 motored beside them. Multiple A1s exploded at the front of the line. Enemy assault! Just as that scream reverberated throughout the area, an explosion on the long line of infantry caused them to dive to the ground. Grey tanks appeared from the left. The A1s turned and started driving towards them. The grey tanks stood there motionless. Another volley came from them. Gavin scrambled to get to cover as his fellow platoon members did too. Gavin was lying flat on the side of the road. The clanking noise and the monstrous size of the grey tanks scared him. There wasnt much an infantryman could do against a tank that was miles away. Gavin viewed the tank battle. The A1 tank crews were valiant but victory did not seem possible. They couldnt even get their guns in range to fire upon the enemy. The A1s charged as the grey tanks fired upon them. One shot caused a fiery explosion as it hit one of the tanks. Gavin lay there mersimized in fear at the scene. Someone nudged him. Quickly, we are leaving. Gavin got up and saw that everyone else was leaving too. They had managed to get out of sight of the battle. The A1s were left behind to cover the retreat of the infantry. Gavin was surprised that the enemy was already here. Did they somehow overtake Gavin and his unit? Then suddenly an explosion ran out in the middle of the infantry formation. Enemy tanks! Everyone started running. Unlike when they were fighting the A1s, the enemy tanks started coming towards them. These ones were much smaller than the tanks earlier. But they were fast. And they were armed with a machine gun instead of a cannon. The organized retreat fell into chaos. A few miles from the Verona General! We havent received any messages from our scouts. Do we know anything about the frontline? The last message was that we are on complete retreat. More scouts have just been sent out to check the situation. One of Andris subordinates voiced his opinions. General, we are too close to the frontline now. I suggest we relocate to a safer location. The rest of his staff agreed. General Andri closed his eyes and rubbed them in a tired fashion. Tell everyone to get ready to leave. Keep me updated on what the scouts find. Once everything is packed, we shall go. General! General! His adjutant ran into the building seemingly out of breath. We have to go! General Andri looked perplexed. Calm down. Whats happening? Enemy tanks are closer than we thought! It will be only a matter of time before they are here! Our main force has already been completely encircled. General, we need to leave. Andri looked at the map before looking up. Quickly then we dont have time to waste. We are leaving right this instance. If it isnt important, leave it behind or burn it. Andri and his staff walked out of the building and got into their cars. Then he heard shouts. They are here! Enemy tanks! General Andri looked back at the scene unfolding behind him. Grey tanks were moving into the area where he had set up his headquarters. He turned back and shouted at his driver. Driver! Go! Machine gunfire could be heard behind them. A group of cars and some trucks sped out of the camp. 1124 April 3rd, 2020 CE 0842 Sun 3rd, 196 AE Primopolis Your majesty, the First and Fourth Army faced a simultaneous attack an hour ago. Large portions of both armies have been surrounded by the elves. The eastern and western flanks of the front have been completely open. We are scrambling to set up a new defensive position. Emperor Arstant sat down and closed his eyes. Where is Caius? He is currently busy. A lot of generals are threatening to resign after what happened. They were the ones that had requested we accept the Americans offer of help. Get me to him right now! Caius was dealing with all the angry generals that had barged into his office. We have absolutely nothing to fear gentlemen. They all stared at him with hostile eyes. Nothing to fear!? Of course, we have something to fear! Two armies were completely encircled and pushed back. How do you expect us to even stop them?! I ask you this, gentleman. Are we a nation that is not capable of defending itself? Are we, the Magus Imperium, just going to let another nation defend us? Are we going to put our nation in more debt to another nation''s actions? We? A nation that has held the title of superpower for more than a century. We are the Magus Imperium and we need no other country to defend us!" If the country is gone, that superpower status and debt wont matter! The door to his office opened once more. Caius sighed. Not another one. Surprisingly, Emperor Arstant strolled in. All the generals bowed at his presence. You may all rise. What is going on here? One of the generals spoke up. Your majesty, we can not continue this any longer. We need help from the Americans. The Emperor looked at everyone in the room. And you all agree on this? All the generals nodded at once. The Emperor sighed. We will request help from the Americans. The generals all brightened up as he said that. Caius looked at the Emperor in surprise. "But your majesty!" "No buts, Caius. The eastern and western flank has already fallen. Our defenses are spread thin. We will only face destruction if it continues like this." 1352 April 3rd, 2020 CE Miami Diplomat Underwood and Translator Hoffman were once again in a meeting with the Magusian Ambassador. This time, they have finally requested help from the United States. We are willing to let some of your units through to fight the elves. We will only allow a certain amount of aircraft. They will be deployed to areas designated by our generals and supervised by our officers. Underwood had a face like he was through with this. Its all of them or none. We want to be able to deploy our units as we like. Completely under our command and with freedom of movement. If you dont agree, then get out of here. Ambassador Jacques looked to the ground and sighed before looking up. His majesty was hoping they would agree to that but it seemed like they had no choice. Fine. 0633 April 4th, 2020 CE 0616 Sun 4th, 196 AE Near the Mach-Magus border Near a barn, a farmer tended to his field. He stopped his tractor when he heard something that sounded like an object endlessly whipping the sky. He looked up. His eyes nearly popped out. Hundreds of objects with what seemed to be propellers on top appeared in his view. Then he heard rumbling on the road that was next to his farm Apaches, Chinooks, and Blackhawks flew overhead. M1A2 Abrams, Bradleys, and Strykers rumbled down the road. A massive procession heading straight towards the front. Chapter 34 – The Black Death” Helicopter RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the slight delay. My computer was being slow again for some reason. Also IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: I will be going on a one-week hiatus. Chapter 35 will come out on August 30th. School has started again for me and it feels like I''m being slammed in the head by a wooden chopping board. This is also the reason that I have recently stopped answering comments. I''m exhausted at this point. I need some rest. Current me: Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/ZgfCUxFE7XA 82nd All The Way by Sabaton During Operation Desert Storm, the Iraqis feared the Apaches so much that they named it the "Black Death" 1135 April 4th, 2020 CE 0847 Sun 4th, 196 AE 50 miles from the jungles of the Magus Imperium Chinooks and Blackhawks landed by an airfield. The grass buffeted in the wind made by the helicopters. Chinooks dropped off their equipment. Multiple people jumped out from the Blackhawks. One of them looked around before turning to the others. Engineers, get to work. We have to get this FOB up ASAP! The people who were shouted at quickly scurried off everywhere. The commanding man walked towards the Magusian officials that were standing on the airfield. After consultations with the Magus, multiple airfields near the frontline were gladly given to the Americans for whatever they needed it for. There wasnt much need for the airfields anyways. Hundreds of wyverns had been shot out of the sky so there was plenty of space. The plains of the Magus Imperium near the Verona Lieutenant General Ara sighed as she looked out of the commander hatch of her Knight. They had already broken through the humans central front but she wasnt allowed to be part of any of the forward elements. With her superiors here, she couldnt just rush to the frontlines like she did during the beginning of the war. She thirsted for action. The sweet feeling of crushing her enemies. If only her division was still an autonomous unit. She calmed down and shook her head after a while of daydreaming. She will probably get her share of the battle soon. Nothing could stop the Elven Army and since they were waging war against the entire human race, it was only a matter of time before she could get into her Stallion again and rush off to battle. 0422 April 5th, 2020 CE 0511 Sun 5th, 196 AE The jungles of the Magus Imperium The remnants of the First and Fourth Army were making a panicked retreat across the plains towards the jungles. The secondary defense lines were just beyond them. If they could get there, they should be safe. However, it wasnt going to be easy. The Elven forward elements were hot on their trail. Any units that lagged behind were massacred by tanks. Gavin stumbled on one of the roads through the jungles. His unit, if it could be even called a unit anymore, had been running for more than an entire day. Whatever was left of the cohesion and organization of the Fourth Army didnt exist anymore after the elven tanks attack. There were no orders anymore. Only survival was on their minds. They were just trying to reach the secondary defense lines. Just trying to reach safety. That safety was beyond the jungles since the higher ups wanted to be able to get supply there with little problem. It was more of a place to store supply before they got transported to the front. The higher ups never actually thought that they would be pushed back this far. He heard clanking noises behind him as he staggered forward. Dread filled him. It could only mean one thing. The Elves and their monstrous tanks were here. How?! His unit was running constantly. They didnt stop. At this point, he collapsed onto the ground. He just couldn''t do it anymore. Around him, his unit was in a panicked rush to run. He closed his eyes. This was it. Mother. Father. The clanking noise grew closer. Your son will be going ahead of you. Then he heard something different. It wasnt that loud but it was still audible. Something like an object constantly whipping through the air. At the same time, he heard something that sounded like music he had never heard of before. Was this the angels coming to get him before death? ...they''re red, white and blue And when the band plays "Hail to the chief" Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord It ain''t me, it ain''t me Sounds of massive explosions occurred around him. The ground shook. He opened his eyes in surprise and got his head off the ground to stare at the carnage occurring on the road behind him. 0356 April 5th, 2020 CE 0428 Sun 5th, 196 AE One of the airbases given to the US Helicopters whirred to life in one of the many airfields that were given to the United States. Their rotors started to spin. Attack helicopters, AH-64D Apache Longbows and AH-64E Apache Guardians, were already in the air. They were all tilted forward and moving quickly. Below, soldiers got on UH-60 Blackhawks and CH-47 Chinooks. Some of the Chinooks that were already in the air hooked onto Humvees below them. Inside one of the Chinooks, a second lieutenant yelled at his platoon who were all sitting with ready faces. We will be landing on the defense line that the Maggies have set up behind the jungle. Based on what we have been told these elven sons of bitches are currently moving onto that position. The birds will keep an eye on things. Overlord will warn us if anything comes our way. 15 minutes later Secondary Defense Line Soldiers were leaning against the back of the trench with rifles on their shoulders. Some stood firmly and held onto the back of their machine guns. The machine guns looked intensely at the jungle for any enemies. Then all of them swished their heads to look toward the sky behind them as weird noises had caught their attention. They watched in utter surprise as multiple flying contraptions with big propellers on top quickly passed overhead. They were like pegasus flying full speed ahead. Were these the Americans who were said to be coming as help? What were those things? Behind them some of these weird flying objects seemed to be getting closer to the ground. They landed and people wearing bulky clothing rushed out. They were dressed in a mess of darkish green and a few other colors. They were also all wearing sunglasses. In a dug out room in the reserve trench, a man and one of the weird clothed men saluted at each other. Lieutenant Colonel William Parker of the 82nd Airborne Division. Major General Lance Bernart of the 41st Division, Sixth Army. They put their salutes down. Glad to see that you understand Imperial. Your help here is very welcome, American. We currently have many problems. Because of the surprise and speed of the enemy attack, we havent fully mobilized yet. We are stretched thin. Only the Sixth Army guards this entire secondary defense line. William nodded. My battalion will be taking up positions of defense with your division. Our aircraft are currently scouting for enemies. More units are coming in order to begin an offensive once we beat back the assault. Lance rubbed his chin with a concerned face. I do question your capability though. I have heard that you usually defeated the Mach Imperium but a mere battalion sized unit is not going to hold these elves back. They have beaten back two armies without even stopping. And this is an important sector. We need at least another division here. Rest assured, I fully believe in my units capabilities. You will understand when you see. Bigger flying contraptions with two propellers came carrying what seemed to be grass colored cars. The flying contraptions didnt land and only dropped them onto the ground before leaving. The cars looked as weird as the men who came from those aircraft. 0420 April 5th, 2020 CE 0510 Sun 5th, 196 AE Two Apaches of the 1-17th had been moving to their designated position for scouting when they spotted something on the road. It was surrounded by the green dense jungle so its grey color clearly stood out. In the cockpit of one of the Apaches, a pilot talked into his radio. <<< Got enemy tanks in sight. They seem to be all light tanks. Moving in a straight line through one of the roads in the jungle. We will be setting up for an engagement. There was a silence before a scratchy radio voice replied. PID confirmed. Engage. Engage. Be advised, friendly Maggies... on the road. Dont engage those currently on foot. Over. Copy that, we will be engaging. >>> AGR-20A APKWS II (Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System) Hydra 70s fired from the rocket pods mounted to the sides of the two Apaches that were hovering in the sky about 3 miles away from the elven tanks. The rockets came out one after another, each seeking their targets. On the eastern front, the Elven forward elements, a light magipanzer company of the 15th Magipanzer Division, could see some of the figures of the retreating human infantry. Increasing their speed in excitement, the Stallions got closer to the spread out human formation. The human infantry were clearly panicking at this point. They were running around left to right and one of them even collapsed. It was time to rip them to shreds like they did with the hundreds of other humans that they had come across. However, before they could fire, music and the sound of something whipping in the air distracted them. Looking out from their hatches, the elven tank commanders turned to the sky to where they thought it came from. They couldnt see anything out of the ordinary. Most of their view was blocked by the jungle after all. After a moment of confusion at the sounds, the front Stallion exploded in a fireball and veered off onto the side of the road. The crews of the magipanzer company were in total surprise. The front Stallion was burning as if it had exploded. The turret was gone and smoke was billowing out. The rest of the company quickly regained their senses. Something wasnt right. Magipanzers didnt spontaneously combust out of nowhere. They had definitely heard what was shooting at them but couldnt see it at all. The captain signaled with a wave to retreat. They all started to back up their magipanzers as fast as possible. Metal flew into the sky as another explosion occurred. Some of the tank commanders jumped off from their commander hatches and ran. Hatches on all parts of the Stallions opened up and the elven crews scrambled out in a panic to escape into the jungle. Whoever was attacking them couldnt possibly hit them if they hid in the dense jungles. Some magipanzers exploded just as the crew were climbing out of it. A few unlucky ones who were last to leave their magipanzer shared a similar fate. Only the ones in the back had their entire crews survive. Even outside their tanks, they werent safe. As they ran for the jungles, the ground exploded. Bullet casings spewed out from the gun mounted underneath the Apaches. The pilots felt the vibrations coming from it. The 30mm M230 chain guns on the Apaches opened up on those that got out of their tanks. The ground exploded all around the elves and the ratatatata of the chain guns could be heard inside the cockpits. The only thing on their minds was to get to the forest as quickly as possible. That was their only chance of salvation from this rain of death. An elf dropped onto the ground shaking in fear as his fellow crew members were torn to bits in front of him. He was only a few inches from death. A few inches from suffering the same fate as his friends that were running in front of him. Liquid came out of his pants. On all fours, he started crawling towards the mud towards the jungle. He could still hear the horrid music reverberating through the forest. Some folks inherit star spangled eyes Ooh, they send you down to war The chain guns went silent after a few seconds before beginning once again. Switching to thermals, the Apache pilots had spotted the warm bodies of the elves that had already run into the jungles. A few minutes later Black smoke billowed into the sky. Burning metal husks lined the road. The flaming wrecks of 17 Stallions. Some of the dead crew members laid on the road around their tanks. Even more dead were in the forests. After a few more minutes, Gavin stood up in a daze. He had shaken off most of his shock but it was still evident on his face. It seemed as if the Angels had protected him and used their divine powers to strike down their foes. Where else could those fiery explosions and music have come from? Gavin looked up at the sky to see if he could find them. Sadly, the music had already stopped and the Angels were nowhere to be found. On the western front, a similar series of events played out with the 101st Airborne. Chapter 35 – Turning Point RonTheBlackCat Still a bit tired from school but I''m writing now! Hooray! Hopefully, I don''t need to take any more breaks. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Apache helicopter video compilation (21+) https://youtu.be/gVehWAIpw1U "Now if there''s one thing you can be sure of, it''s that nothing is more powerful than a young boy''s wish. Except an Apache helicopter. An Apache helicopter has machine guns AND missiles. It is an unbelievably impressive complement of weaponry, an absolute death machine." - From the Ted movie 0440 April 5th, 2020 CE 0520 Sun 5th, 196 AE Way behind the Elven frontline In a tent, an elf looked at his magiwatch. The 33rd Magipanzers have reported losing contact with their forward elements. They should have neared the human trenches by now. They havent reported their position at all. An older looking elf, Colonel General Elred Virro, the commander of the Eastern Army, sighed. Is it possible that they have tried to engage the human defenses? Possiblyugh... it wont be a surprise seeing how hot-headed the entire 33rd were about this mission. Losing a few recon units isn''t important. I was just hoping we get a clearer picture of the enemy numbers. The 33rd had requested we let them slow down first and allow them to send another recon unit. CG Virro shook his head. I thought you just said that they were hot-headed. Why are they asking to slow down. The loss of the recon units has unnerved them a bit. It does feel a bit worrying. I understand their sentiment but the Leader has put us on a tight schedule. We cant waste a single second. Time is of the essence here. Every minute lost is one more minute that the enemy gets to reinforce itself or retreat to a safer location. Of course, they are technologically inferior but they have numbers on their side. We barely have an entire Army group here and its in charge of the entire frontline. If we lose momentum at this point, we may face problems in the future. The humans may have taken out the recon units but they cant possibly stop an entire magipanzer corp without suffering heavy casualties. Mere blitzpanzer divisions were able to overwhelm their initial defenses within a few days. Compared to a blitzpanzer division, a magipanzer corp is like a tsunami. Understood, General. CG Virro placed his hands on the table. He gazed over the map that had multiple wooden, colored pieces on it. Even if they are able to stop the 33rd Magipanzer, we still have the 61st and 26th Infantry Corps as part of the first wave. The second wave is also arriving on the shores. They will be ready to bolster the offensive soon He rubbed his beard. ... I heard the Leader has assigned us some experimental magipanzer units in the second wave. Im looking forward to seeing them. Magusian Secondary Defense Line, Reserve Trench On a very different map, LTC Parkers aide put xs on multiple roads in the jungle. The recon birds have destroyed what is believed to be enemy forward elements on these roads. Overlord is identifying all of them as light tank companies. Recon drones from the Air Force have also spotted a large formation of enemy tanks coming towards us. The forward elements seemed to have come from them. Overlord has sent Apaches to engage them. However, it is questionable whether or not they will be able to destroy all of them. The number is too much for just the 82nds Apaches to deal with. LTC Parker looked concernedly at the xs on the map. When is the estimated arrival of the rest of our ground forces? About one to two hours from now. He rubbed his chin. Hm how about the Air Force? We are not sure when the engineers will finish reconfiguring the Magusian air bases so that is not on the table right now. After talking to his aide, LTC Parker closed his eyes a bit before turning to MG Bernart. We are expecting large numbers of elven tanks. Will you be able to deal with it? Our tanks are on their way and we currently do have the capability to deal with them. Thats reassuring to hear. However, I suggest we pull back the line. If the elven tanks burst out of these jungles, we will be taken off guard and destroyed. 0500 April 5th, 2020 CE 0530 Sun 5th, 196 AE In the air 48 AH-64D Apache Longbows and AH-64E Apache Guardians of the 1-17th Heavy Attack Reconnaissance Squadron and 1-82nd Attack Reconnaissance Battalion tore through the skies. Passing over the jungles, they were soon flying over the grassy plains. Their shadows flew alongside them on the green ground 0530 April 5th, 2020 CE 0545 Sun 5th, 196 AE Plains between the jungle and Verona River On this clear and sunny day, more than 300 magipanzers, the 26th Magipanzer Regiment of the 5th Magipanzer Division, part of the 33rd Magipanzer Corps, rumbled through the lush and green plains. Behind them, a part of the 5th Magipanzer Divison, motorized infantry riding trucks, artillery being towed by trucks, and various other vehicles followed. Grass was flattened under the tracks of these tanks. Massive dust clouds were lifted up behind them. Corporal Llarm Daejor, one of the many tank commanders of the II Magipanzer Battalion, looked out of his commander''s hatch and sighed. He looked with envy at some of the magipanzers around him. He envied the other commanders who were able to get Knights. His magipanzer, a Guard, was the medium magipanzer that was widely used before the Knights was introduced. Now, the Knights had replaced almost all of the Guards. Of course, it was just his luck to be assigned as a commander to a Guard. The Knights seemed so much bigger and sleeker than his dinky little Guard. CPL Daejor turned his attention to the plains. If there werent so many vehicles, this scene would look very nice. He wished he could just stop his magipanzer, get out his sketchbook, and draw. A few miles away in the air <<>> Back on the ground Lieutenant Colonel Ryo Valhice, commander of the I Magipanzer Battalion of the 26th Magipanzer Regiment, stared through his binoculars at the aircraft in front of him. He got out his radio. <<>> A voice came through the 5th Magipanzer Division commanders radio. It was the commander of the tank regiment at the vanguard, Colonel Rolim Trakkas of the 26th Magipanzer Regiment. <<>> Dust rose up from the front tracks of the magipanzers that dotted the plains as they all started backing up in unison. CPL Daejor heeded the command for all tanks to back up. It probably had to do with the mysterious flying objects coming towards them. For some reason, at a distance away, the objects had just stopped all of a sudden and stayed still in the sky. It was amazing to see an aircraft stop in mid-air. Normal aircraft could never accomplish such feats. The floating aircraft didnt stay motionless for too long before lights started to flash out of their sides. What the hell is that? Far at the front, a Stallion exploded in a sudden burst. CPL Daejor swooped back into his magipanzer and shut the hatch. The sounds of explosion resonated in the Guard tank By the goddess, back up as fast as possible! Apache comms <<>> On the ground The crew of the 20 mm flak gun started to quickly ready their gun. One of the crewmen started spinning the wheel to get it up but it wasnt long before a rocket hit them and their flak gun. As he watched explosions at the front of his formation, Colonel Trakkas clutched his radio. <<>> COL Trakkas switched the channel. <<< Lieutenant General! The aircraft are attacking us! They are shooting rockets! My regiment is being destroyed! Calm down. Where are your anti-aircraft guns? They are out of range, sir! When we try to get them closer. They just get destroyed in an instance. Do we have any with longer ranges? Full retreat. Dont panic. Anti-aircraft guns will be ready behind you. >>> No matter how hard the anti-aircraft battery that was sent to help the I Magipanzer Battalion tried to sneak up on the Apaches, they were instantly seen and blown up. The magipanzers of the I Magipanzer Battalion were mercilessly blown up one by one. In front of LTC Valhices command tank, one of his battalions heavy Fortress tanks went up in flames the instant a rocket hit it. Its once-mighty 88mm gun drooped lifelessly from its displaced turret. Impossible! Thats a Fortress! <<>> Apache comms <<>> <<>> <<>> Back on the ground The flying objects stopped firing their rockets and started turning to their sides.A few minutes after the sound of explosions subsided, CPL Daejor popped open his hatch and peeked out. He looked around like a gopher looking out of its hole. Seems to be over. Towards the front, black smoke billowed into the sky. Destroyed tanks littered the plains. COL Trakkas looked at the scene in front of him with surprise. <<>> Lieutenant General Paeral Faekas put his radio down for a few minutes and wondered how he was going to explain this to the General of the Magipanzers. <<<"This is Lieutenant General Faekas of the 33rd... I need to talk directly to General Venmoira. This is of utmost urgency. There was silence on the other side for a little bit before a voice came through. What is it, Lieutenant General? The 26th Magipanzer Regiment has suffered heavy losses. At most an entire magipanzer battalion has been destroyed. ...what happened for such heavy losses to occur? Unidentified flying objects approached them and started firing rockets outside the range of their 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. They were described as slow mechanical aircraft with a propeller on top instead of on its nose. Capable of taking out our Fortresses A helicopter? Hm? Heli copter? Do you know anything about those aircraft? There was silence on the other side for a few seconds. No. I can not confirm anything. I have allowed the 26th to retreat. Should my division completely pull back? No. The orders are clear. We are not allowed to stop. I will send the 3rd Magipanzer Division to help. However, slow your pace and continue forward. I will check with the Colonel General. Understood.>>> RonTheBlackCat Guard tank From Wikipedia Chapter 36 – Elven Concern RonTheBlackCat Its kinda late for this but I would like to thank my editor, Przemo, for looking out for grammar mistakes for the past 10 or more chapters. He even wrote a part of this XD. Shoutout to Przemo! Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Sabaton Light in the Black https://youtu.be/_HLNMfCBUb0 I come in peace. I didn''t bring artillery. But I''m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: if you fuck with me I''ll kill you all." - Marine General "Mad Dog" James Mattis, to Iraqi tribal leaders 0610 April 5th, 2020 CE 0605 Sun 5th, 196 AE Way behind the Elven frontline In his tent, Colonel General Virro of the Eastern Army was faced with a dilemma. Should he stop the 33rd Magipanzers? Or should he demand that they continue to push forward? The loss of an entire magipanzer battalion was unexpected. In the Battle of Abellinum, the humans capability to destroy Knights was already surprising. Now the humans were even taking out Fortresses! Hopefully, the Leaders superweapons are able to handle this better. And wasnt the description a slow mechanical aircraft with a propeller on top instead of on its nose clearly a helicopter? That technology was under development in the Elven Advancement Department. With how advanced human technology was, they shouldnt have the ability to produce them yet. He needed to report this to the Intelligence Department. If he waited, he could reinforce his units position and allow them to take more losses without greatly affecting their combat effectiveness. The Air Force would be able to provide coverage by then too. On the other hand, he would lose the momentum gained before and the humans could begin a counteroffensive before the reinforcements arrived. The humans were still a force to be careful around. They were weak but it didnt mean they were foolish. It would take two days for the second wave to reach the Verona River and another day for the Air Force to be able to provide complete coverage. CG Virro shook his head. His units were too spread apart. He sighed. Even though he was only 125 years old, he was already feeling like an elderly from all this thinking. Near the Elven initial amphibious landings Field Marshal Zaos Qintumal looked extremely concerned. CG Virro was right. Not only was his army too spread out, but the entire army group was. There was also a massive gap in the center of the Army Group that the humans could easily exploit. Im addition, both the Eastern Army and Western Army have faced similar setbacks because of the human helicopters. Since the order to advance nonstop past the jungle was given directly by the Leader, he had to bring this up to him. A few minutes later Afvalin, Elven Nation And why are they requesting to stop? Tarron Venharice, the Leader, closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. His most trusted aide read out the report in a tone indicating a ton of bad news. The humans are equipped with weapons capable of taking out Fortresses. The entire I Battalion of the 26th Magipanzer Regiment was wiped out. There is a high chance that the humans are equipped with advanced weaponry. The description of the weapon capable of taking out Fortresses oddly matches the helicopters that we are designing. These are big problems. And how is a helicopter capable of taking out tanks? Our helicopter designs show that heavy armaments are impossible to be fitted on them. The human helicopters were equipped with rockets. Tarron sighed. I guess that''s a divergence in the humans'' technological development. They somehow invented the helicopter before us. However, just because these humans destroyed a single tank battalion using somewhat advanced weapons doesnt mean we should put the whole invasion into a standstill. Field Marshal Qintumal is expressing concern about how his army group is spread so thin. Tarron leaned back on his chair and his head fell onto his clasped hands. After a few minutes, he looked back up. We will not stop. Push forward as fast as possible! It is vital that we at least secure the jungle. If we allow the humans to fortify the jungles, then we will have to engage them there. They will have the advantage at that point. Our ancestors may have had the skill to fight in the forests but now only our special units have that capability. And none of them are in the second wave. Trust me, jungle battles will be more hell than the city battle we faced in Abellinum. We must take this chance when the humans are battered, disorganized, and demoralized. 0642 April 5th, 2020 CE 0616 Sun 5th, 196 AE Plains between the jungle and Verona River The advancement of the 33rd towards the Magusian Secondary Defense Line greatly slowed at this point. Anti-air thauguns were kept as close to the front as possible. They didnt have any air cover because they had advanced too fast. It was also surprising that the humans had any aircraft left. What the Air Force had reported facing were just wyverns that did not have long-range capabilities. They could be dealt with easily by 20mm anti-aircraft thauguns. Even then hundreds of wyverns had been reported shot down so the humans should barely have an air force left in this area. That logic was turned upside down when they were attacked with mechanical aircraft that easily wiped out the 20mm anti-aircraft thauguns. Colonel Trakkas turned on his radio and switched the channel to his counterpart in the 37th Magipanzer Regiment. <<>> The 26th and 37th Magipanzer Regiments of the 5th Magipanzer Division from the 33rd Magipanzer Corps approached the jungle. Right outside of the jungle, infantry jumped out the back of their trucks and started moving up the road, towards the magipanzers. In the air over the jungles <<>> This time support from only the Apaches wasnt going to be enough. Magusian Secondary Defense Line We will have to expect casualties now. Theres just too many for the Apaches to take them all out. They have divisions of tanks advancing towards us. Never thought I would ever face an entire division filled with tanks. Modern warfare has been focused more and more on smaller sized units. This will be something different. How long is it until our ground reinforcements get here again? Less than an hour. This will be a problem Lieutenant Colonel Parkers battalion had a few Humvees equipped with BGM-71 TOW missiles and infantry squads equipped with M3E1 Carl Gustafs and M136 AT4s. That definitely wasnt enough to face an entire division of tanks. Apache comms <<>> On the ground Just as the lines of magipanzers started to enter the jungle, a distinct whipping sound was heard. <<>> Crew members jumped out of the back of their trucks and rushed to man the 88mm anti-aircraft thauguns. Apache comms <<>> Przemo1232 was here~ The elven anti-aircraft thaugunners were struggling to spot enemy aircraft through the thick forest canopy. The only indication of enemy forces was the constant noise made by whatever flying contraption was nearby. Suddenly, multiple shots were heard from the suspected location of the enemy. With no visual confirmation of an attack, much less an idea where the attack was targeted, the elven units had no chance of escaping it. Multiple missiles impacted the line of magipanzers, throwing the battalion that was entering the jungle into disarray. The infantrymen that were beside the magipanzers dived from the roads and into the jungle. Some of the 88mm anti-aircraft thauguns started firing in the general direction of the enemy, others fired in completely random ones. With losses mounting up and no enemy in sight, an order to retreat was made for the battalion. Magipanzers started backing up amid enemy fire, though not everyone could keep calm under such disastrous circumstances. The entire situation turned into a disorganized retreat soon afterward, with the remainder of the battalion struggling to get out of the jungle. A line of flaming Stallions and Knights covered the road. <<>> Przemo1232 was here~ 0700 April 5th, 2020 CE 0630 Sun 5th, 196 AE Afvalin, Elven Nation Can the Army stop burning down every single damn town they see?! We wont get any useful intelligence at this point! The head of the Elven Intelligence Department, Anfalen Inaneiros, had rushed in a few minutes ago and demanded a meeting with the head of the Elven Army Department. The Army is just doing its job. We are cleansing the inferiors away and we are doing it just fine. No need for your department to poke their head into things they need not be concerned about. In fact, you should use your brains for something better. The advancement department is doing a fine job. Intelligence is a very important part of warfare. Would you please at least keep the buildings intact and have some survivors? I will consider it. Now get out, I have important business today. He waved him away. In the Elven military, the Intelligence Department wasnt really respected by any of the other military departments. The other military departments felt that the money spent on the Intelligence department would be better off spent in their departments. They could gather intelligence about the battlefield all on their own by using recon units. Anfalen was worried. From what his intelligence agents could gather was left from the destroyed human towns, a lot has changed. It was highly likely that the human Empire no longer existed. It was now divided into the Mach Imperium and Magus Imperium. They should be currently fighting the Magus. But that wasnt what truly concerned him. He looked at the headline of a human newspaper. It was one of the few intact things his agents found in the wrecked human towns. His translators were able to translate the entire newspaper text to elvish. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEFEATS MACH IMPERIUM WITHIN DAYS OF INVASION This "United States of America." It was worrying. The newspaper article described them as having advanced weaponry beyond a persons imagination. They could probably be linked to the helicopters that destroyed an entire battalion of magipanzers. Chapter 37 – Jungle’s Drift RonTheBlackCat Sorry for not replying to any recent comments. I love you guys'' comments and I do take time to read them but I have been very busy recently so I can''t really get enough time to reply. I''m currently balancing school, college applications, and writing this. School has been tiring because of the procedures we have to take in order to protect ourselves from COVID. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Sabaton Rorke''s Drift https://youtu.be/emKPydpF7Aw "I have no yet begun to fight!" - Commodore John Paul Jones''s reply to the British Captain of the HMS Serapis. During the Revolutionary War and off the coast of England, John Paul Jones''s ship, the Bonhomme Richard, was sinking and its colors were shot away during its battle with the HMS Serapis. The British Captain inquired "Has your ship struck?" Jone Paul Jones replied "I have no yet begun to fight!" and proceeded to ram the HMS Serapis and board it. A few hours later, the British surrendered. Thanks to prezmo for editing this 0702 April 5th, 2020 CE 0631 Sun 5th, 196 AE Outside of the jungle Dammit! Colonel Trakkas stood with hands on his hips as he looked at the wreckage of a Knight. His regiment had caught up to the 37th which had been stalled by an attack. Nearly a hundred magitrucks, magipanzers, anti-aircraft thauguns from the I Battalion of the 37th Magipanzer Regiment were destroyed. The attackers, the special human aircraft, also got away. He was pretty sure that the 5th Magipanzer Division has so far suffered the most casualties out of all other divisions in this war. Even though the special human aircraft seemed slow and cumbersome, his anti-aircraft thauguns havent been able to shoot any of them down. This time, the 88s were completely blinded by the jungle. Should we retreat and regroup before starting another push? The commander of the 37th Magipanzer Regiment looked at COL Trakkas whilst saying that. COL Trakkas stood there staring at the destroyed magipanzer. He looked into the sky and thought for a bit. Before long, he came to a conclusion. Push forward. Theres a reason why the human aircraft are constantly retreating. They need to reload. We have to take advantage of this and overrun their airbases. Or at least get to the other side of the jungle and set up defenses so that they cant attack us anymore. My II Battalion will take the lead this time. We dont need the infantry on foot anymore. Magusian Secondary Defense Line The Apaches only gave them a short pause. They seem to have reorganized and are continuing. They definitely arent flinching. Lieutenant Colonel Parker nodded at that statement. He already knew that it was too hopeful to think that they will. Get the men ready for an engagement. It wasnt going to be an easy fight against such a large number of tanks. Hundreds of miles to the west Charred magipanzers littered the plains yet again. The 25th Magipanzer Corps, part of the Western Army, came to a standstill. Because of the heavy losses, the commanders of the magipanzer divisions were unwilling to advance further. Against orders, they dug in. 0723 April 5th, 2020 CE 0641 Sun 5th, 196 AE Jungles COL Trakkas heard a voice through his radio. It was the commander of his II Battalion <<>> Colonel Trakkas once again stood in front of a destroyed magipanzer. This time, it was a Stallion. These are from the recon units. His aide slid his hand on the blackened armor of the Stallion before coming to a conclusion. Seems like they got attacked by those human aircraft. Im seeing the exact same damage. Only having those weapons is not enough to stop us. All we have to do is to destroy their airbases to prevent any more attacks. Even more reason to get there as fast as possible, then, Sir. A few minutes later A soldier looked out from a bush using a pair of binoculars. He watched as the tanks whizzed by. <<>> Because of the thick canopy, the Air Forces high-flying drones were having trouble keeping track of the Elven tanks as they drove through the jungle. Infantry was sent into the forest to keep an eye on them. In an effort to also slow them down, the recon forces came well prepared. A rocket from an AT4 slammed into the side of a speeding Knight. Its turret flung into the sky at the impact. Another Knight behind it crashed into its mangled metal corpse. As the recon force quickly went back deeper into the jungle, their commander looked back. That should give them a shock. <<>> <<>> 0815 April 5th, 2020 CE 0707 Sun 5th, 196 AE Magusian Secondary Defense Line Humvees sat in several dug up positions with sandbags around them. Fire! A TOW missile slid out of the tube that sat on top of one of the entrenched Humvees. It flew towards a small tank that was barely out of the jungle. A fiery explosion engulfed the Stallions turret as the TOW missile blew up in the air on top of it. The turret popped off during the explosion. The Stallion behind the destroyed one turned to the left side of the road and started to traverse its turret toward the Humvee. A TOW missile from another Humvee disabled it. When the II Battalion had finally gotten out of the jungle after facing multiple attacks, they were immediately met with another attack. <<>> Colonel Trakkas wanted to throw something on the ground. He was tired of it. The Stallion company had been ordered to retreat after their two losses. The humans seem to have placed a lot of anti-tank thauguns so the Stallions wouldnt be effective. They needed something with much more armor. A few minutes later A Fortress smashed right through the two destroyed Stallions that had blocked the road. It traversed its cumbersome turret towards one of the Humvees. The gunner got his finger near the trigger as the shot lined up. Just as it was about to fire, orange flames appeared on top of the Fortress, and then it exploded. Colonel Trakkas huffed again as he listened to the II Battalion commander. <<>> Because of the time, it took to reload the TOW missiles on the Humvees, 3 had been positioned so that they could give a continuous fire if the enemy tried to rush out of the road. Luckily, only three tanks have shown up so far. Even though the elves had such a large number of tanks, they didnt seem to be using it to their advantage. During the entire time, Major General Bernart watched the American weapons with great interest. MG Bernart and Lieutenant Colonel Parker had repositioned the HQ to a small mound that gave them a view of the battlefield. What amazing firepower you have! What were those weapons you used to destroy their magitanks? TOW missiles. Its an anti-tank weapon. An anti-tank rifle? LTC Parker wasnt really a maker of the weapons, he just used them. So explaining the actual workings of it was too much of a hassle for him. He could but it wasnt in his job description. Uhhh yeah sure something like that. Strangest anti-tank rifle I have ever seen. After a while The destroyed pile of tanks started moving forward. <<>> The tank was destroyed in no time without even being able to shoot back. Unexpectedly to the crew inside, the destroyed magipanzers it used didnt protect it. A few minutes later On a branch of a tree, Simon Holayra looked through his scope as he chewed on an army-issued ration cracker. Through the leaves, he lined up his scope with one of the humans manning the strange anti-tank thaugun. He much preferred his usual iron sights over the scope but using that in the middle of a jungle would have been problematic. His gun gave off a crack as he squeezed the trigger. An infantryman that was manning the TOW launcher slumped over. Shit! Sniper! They got Jones! At that moment, multiple bullets pinged off the Humvees. Enemy infantry in the jungle! Light em up, light em up! A full fusillade of machine-gun and rifle fire descended upon the forest. In addition, the Magusian soldiers that were sitting in the newly dug trenches behind the Humvees opened up as well. In the jungles, the elves crouched on the ground. Hundreds of bullets flew overhead. Those who had been standing when the humans started firing had been either turned into red mist or were on the ground full of bullet holes. A commander shouted over the gunfire. These inferiors firepower is immense! Keep your head down and return fire! For the Vaterland! MG Bernard stared through his binoculars at the firefight in wonder. Especially at the American positions. Completely ignoring the current situation, he turned to LTC Parker to inquire about it. Are all of your soldiers armed with machine guns?! No, just rifles. But they can shoot nonstop! LTC Parker didnt really like how much questions this guy was asking. Uhhh well basically think of a machine gun but the size of a rifle. Amazing! Is your country willing to sell this to us? I guarantee that we are willing to buy your guns at any price! I dont have a say in this. You will have to ask my government. From what I know, its not likely. However, it is possible that we can give you some of our older versions. Radio chatter among the infantry nearly became a jumbled mess. <<>> The .50 cals on the Humvees didnt let up as they continuously peppered the jungle in front of them. The infantry with their M4 rifles took shots wherever they saw an elf. The fire from the other side wasnt as intense but an elven sniper was definitely picking them off one by one. <<>> In the chaos of the firefight, a Knight was able to maneuver itself out of the jungle. The gun traversed directly to a TOW Humvee. It fired. The Knights shell smashed into the Humvee and it blew up in a blaze of orange. It wasnt long before the Knight was taken out by a TOW missile. Then a Fortress rumbled out of the forest. Stallions were right behind it. LTC Parker sighed. He looked as the elven heavy tanks and light tanks came out of the jungles. If the elves kept on getting tanks through... I dont think we can hold this for any longer. Then his radio made some noise. Anyone call for a guardian angel? Chapter 38 – Time to Strike RonTheBlackCat Hey guuuys, author here. You might be wondering why I''m talking like this. Well, that''s because I''m tired as fuck.This Friday night, when I got into bed and was drifting off to sleep I literally felt the tiredness in my bones. I just went like "Sheesh. I have never ever felt this tired before." I''m not tired because of writing this. I''m tired because of my school week. I have had so much work to do that I go to bed at like 11:00 pm. Well, hope you guys enjoy this chap. Thanks for listening to my rant. I''m going to sleep cause I have school tomorrow. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Sabaton''s Into The Fire https://youtu.be/RSvTAJiTUfE 0837 April 5th, 2020 CE 0718 Sun 5th, 196 AE Magusian Secondary Defense Line A loud, happy, and crisp voice interrupted the panicked chatter of the infantry. <<< Anyone call for a guardian angel?>>> Jets could be heard coming closer and closer. Two F-35As seemingly skimmed the canopy of the jungle. As they flew over the jungle where the elves were, multiple Mk-77 incendiary bombs were dropped from them. Explosions could be heard as literal lines of orange flames raced straight across the treeline where the elves had been firing from. In a flash, flames appeared everywhere around the elves in the jungle. Panic and confusion set in as many of them caught on fire. Some stood up and started patting themselves. Trying in vain to extinguish the fire on their skins. Others writhed on the ground or started to run. Looking at the scene, Lieutenant Colonel Parker inhaled and exhaled before turning to Major General Bernart who was staring in utter amazement at what just happened. Do you smell that? Hm? MG Bernart was confused at what he was saying. Napalm. Na palm? I love the smell of napalm in the afternoon. Then a funny grin appeared on LTC Parkers face. MG Bernart shook his head. He didnt understand what this napalm was but he was still amazed at what had just happened. His excitement washed away his confusion. What were those?! Were those flame dragons?! Flame dragons were rare creatures that normally lived on the Soane continent. They were few in numbers, untameable, and preferred to live in caves near lava. It was said that flame dragons were able to burn down entire swathes of forests in a rampage. Whatever came by just then were just like the flame dragons but their shapes were different from the basic form of one. No, they are jet fighters. Je t fighters? Planes. Uhhh, like the ones used by the Machians but better. MG Bernarts eyes sparkled. Such speed! Such power! The shooting stopped as the jungle crackled in flames. The Magusian soldiers stared in awe at the burning forest before cheering. These Americans were really as powerful as they had heard. What country had the ability to call down flames from the sky? With the Americans help, they may actually have a chance of winning. <<>> Further in the jungle BACK UP! Corporal Daejor screamed at his crew in a panic. The Guard lurched backward as flames roared around it. Simons rifle rested on his lap as he threw the last bits of his cracker into his mouth as he watched the burning jungle. He wasnt positioned that close to the tree line so he was completely fine. The same definitely couldnt be said for the elven infantry closer to the treeline. Their dying screams could be heard all the way to where Simon was. Well, this is bad. He started climbing down the tree with his rifle on his back. <<>> Colonel Trakkas slammed his fist on the turret of his command tank. What is happening!? When did those humans get the capability to fight back?! Somethings not right! 1117 April 5th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. Mmm, this is good water. Chief of Staff John Wills shook his head in a tired way. Mr. President, this isnt time to comment about water. President Ronell Hayes put down his glass of water. Ah yes, um, Cralson, hows the situation going against the elves? Secretary of Defense Roberts coughed a bit before beginning. Elements of the 101st and 82nd Airborne have successfully put a stop to the elven advance. We have suffered minor casualties but nothing too significant. Ronell nodded. Thats good to hear. Now how are we planning to push them out? Elements of the 1st Armored Division, 3rd Infantry Division, 1st Cavalry Division, and 2nd Marine Division will begin an offensive once they arrive. The Air Force is currently positioning itself to begin a sweep of air and ground targets. The Navy will also begin operations to cut off the elves from their homeland. Hows the situation on the Soane continent then? The private military company, Diamond Wolves, should have just arrived at the United Beastmen Kingdom. They will be providing support for the Soane League there so it will give us some time. From our drone and satellite surveillance, the elven force there shouldnt be significant. 1023 April 5th, 2020 CE 0512 Sun 5th, 196 AE Cat Kingdom, United Beastmen Kingdom, Soane Continent Subcommander Jeb Miller stepped off of the ramp of the ship. He gave a small chuckle as he watched the people who worked in the port. Furries would definitely love it here. Wont they, commander? Of course. Surprised no one has traveled here yet. Government and technological restrictions. Cant go landing 747s in a medieval country. People with triangular ears and various kinds of tails stared at the ships and the humans on it. Commander Ahab Wolfred had his hand stretched out to the UBK diplomat, an old tabby cat with drooping whiskers who was wearing a fancy grey suit. Nice to meet you. Im Commander Ahab Wolfred and we, Wolfred looked to the left and right at some of his men behind him before looking back at the diplomat, ...are Diamond Wolves PMC. Hired by the Soane League to provide assistance. Diamond Wolves PMC had hired a translator who began speaking in Latin to the diplomat. After listening to the translator, the diplomat stared intensely through his vertical slit pupils at Commander Wolfred before reaching out to shake his hand. Im Chelo Calmclaws. A diplomat sent here to meet you by the Cat Kingdom. His majesty, the King of the Cat Kingdom, Tierkez Proudtails, and the rest of the Polycracy of the United Beastmen Kingdom welcomes you. Nya. A few minutes later Diamond Wolves contractors got in the Humvees that were rolled out from the various cargo ships. Ahab and Jeb were in their Humvee following the carriage of the cat diplomat. Jeb looked at Ahab who was driving. Why are we getting sent here first instead of the Kingdom of Albea? I thought the frontline was there. Quite lucky for us, it seems like the elves have stopped for a bit and are reorganizing. We are helping and accompanying soldiers from the UBK. Seems like they''re the most effective military force that the Soanes have. These cats dont seem like much though. We will have to see once we meet the unit we are training. After a car ride later, Jeb stared in shock at what he was seeing. I take it back. The Diamond Wolves Humvees have been led to a field near the outskirts of the port city. What seemed to be tigermen, lionmen, leopardmen, and various other big cat people were fighting each other with swords. Some of these big cats were larger when compared to a human. As the Diamond Wolves and the cat diplomat approached them, the training seemed to have stopped. The diplomat approached the soldiers and seemed to be explaining some stuff. Jeb turned to the translator. What are they saying? The diplomat seems to be greeting them and introducing us. What seemed to be a big lionman approached them with the diplomat. He had fur that had the color of flames and was wearing red metal armor. He looked down at Ahab and Jeb. Im Vilo Flametail, commander of the Fifth Division. So you are the humans who were hired by the Grand Council of the League? It wasnt a lionman but a lioness. The voice was distinctly feminine. Ahab stretched his hand out as he spoke. Im Ahab Wolfred, commander of Diamond Wolves PMC. The person beside me is Jeb Miller, subcommander. We have been hired to give assistance and fight alongside you. Vilos big paw shook Ahabs hand. It seemed as if she was almost crushing his hand. Ahab raised an eyebrow and smirked. You have quite a grip there, Commander Flametail. Vilo smiled. You seem just like any other Soane human. Are you sure you are wolves like what you call yourselves? We are. Were wolves of war. War is our prey and we hunt for it. Ron! A reply could be heard from a building that was a few yards from the training field. Ye...yes Madam Flametail? Get me my sword! Right away! A few clanging noises could be heard before a black catgirl catboy wearing a brown tunic came running out. He was quite slim and small but the voice earlier indicated he was male. He got onto the training grounds and started running towards them while carrying a large sheathed sword. As he ran, a wooden target stand fell less than a foot in front of him. He tripped on it and the sword he was carrying flew into the air. It unsheathed before coming back down. It landed and stuck into the ground seemingly a few inches from his head. Ron stood up, seemingly unfazed about the sword nearly entering his brain, and used all of his strength to yank it out of the ground. He put it back into the sheath that fell a few inches away and continued running like nothing had happened. It wasnt long before a yelp came from him as he dropped the sword and cowered on the ground while his hands covered his head. OW MY HEAD! A rock from who knows where had hit him in the head. Ahab and Jeb stared in utter confusion at the catboys ordeal of mishaps. Vilo chuckled a bit. Dont mind him. Its pretty natural. Ron probably has the worst luck in all of the Cat Kingdom. Here you go Madam Flametail. Ron presented the sword to her. Thank you. Vilo turned to Ahab and Jeb. This is Ron Blackmeow, my squire. Ron, this is Commander Wolfred and Subcommander Miller of Diamond Wolves PMC. They have been hired by the Grand Council to assist us. Ron slightly bowed his head. It''s an honor to meet you, sirs. Nice to meet you too. After the greetings. Vilo smiled. Now shall we have a small competition? Ahab smirked. Competition you say? I wont be challenging you to a duel. I have heard that you humans are from another world and have quite some special weapons. Im quite interested in your capabilities. Follow me. Vilo and Ron led the Diamond Wolves to what seemed to be a large field. Two large targets donned with big knight armor were set up on one side. Your target is that one. Vilo pointed to the right one before pointing left. And that one is mine. Choose any weapon in your arsenal. Im picking my most favorite. This sword. She held it out and it glinted in the sun. Ahab smiled. I will gladly take the challenge. Then let us see what''s so special about you humans compared to the Soan ones. A few minutes later on the field Vilo stood on her side and held her sword with focus on her target. I shall go first. She charged across the field before striking the armor. The first strike placed a big dent to its side. The second strike bashed its helmet in and the third knocked it over. She came back with a smile. Now Commander Wolfred, your turn. Ahad picked up his gun and showed it to Vilo. It looked weird and foreign to the cats that were watching. This is an AK-47. Carries a 30 round magazine of 7.62mm bullets with a cyclical rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute. Vilo looked at the weapon with great interest. He aimed at the target for a few seconds before starting to shoot. The continuous sound of gunshots filled the air. The bullets punched multiple holes in the armor. Some went out on the other side. In a few seconds, the armor and its stand were ripped apart and fell to the ground in tatters. Ahab stopped. He looked at Vilos sword and smiled slightly. He nodded towards the sword. That is a weapon of ancient warfare. Made to fight the enemies of 500 years ago in my world. Ahab held his gun out and in the sky. THIS is a weapon of modern warfare. The AK-47. The most dangerous weapon of mass destruction. Made to kill the enemy mercilessly, effectively, and at long range. Developed, perfected, and replaced the sword as the main weapon of the world. Vilo looked a bit surprised before laughing. You werent lying at all. She nodded. I like you guys. Chapter 39 – Elven Realization RonTheBlackCat I''m sorry to announce this but for the next two weeks, I will be releasing half-chapters. I''m currently so busy that I have absolutely no time to do any writing during the weekdays. Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chap. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Sabaton The Future of Warfare https://youtu.be/t8qJi7HURFA "It is never very crowded at the front." - General Creighton Abrams (The Abrams tank is named after him) 1133 April 5th, 2020 CE 0546 Sun 5th, 196 AE Afvalin, Elven Nation An elven aide quickly rushed to Tarron Venharices office. My Leader. Urgent report from the High Command Office. The 25th Magipanzer Corps of the Western Army have stalled a few miles from the jungle. The 33rd Magipanzers Corp of the Eastern Army has been put to a stop in the jungle. What are the casualty reports? In the 33rd Magipanzer Corps, the 1st Battalion of the 37th Magipanzer Regiment and the 1st Battalion of the 26th Magipanzer Regiment can be considered completely destroyed. In addition, the 7th Infantry Regiment has suffered some losses. In the 25th Magipanzer Corps, the 2nd Battalion of the 10th Magipanzer Regiment can also be considered completely destroyed. The current casualty estimate is a total of 5,000 elves with at least 300 magipanzers destroyed. Tarron stood up. Get a car ready. Im going to the High Command Office. The High Command Office was this extraordinarily large room in a building that was situated a few miles from Tarron''s residency. There, multiple elves in grey military uniform ran around with papers, extraordinarily large maps depicting various areas were situated around the room and many elves were discussing with each other. Tarron walked in and a soldier by the door saluted him. Where is Field Marshal Gael? Right here, My Leader. Field Marshal Aegord Gael stood a few feet away from the door and had seemingly just been discussing matters with someone. It was as if he knew that Tarron would come. Can you explain the report that I just got? Aegord slowly nodded. My Leader Its completely true. We are currently re-evaluating the situation. Its a problem for the Army. What did Field Marshal Trasalor say about this? Field Marshal Trasalor said that this wasnt a problem and we should just keep going. Suddenly a menacing air came out of Tarron. Get me Field Marshal Trasalor. A few seconds later, Aegord returned with Field Marshal Nym Trasalor, the head of the Army Department. What is it, My Leader? Tarron angrily pointed his finger at Nym What is happening out there? Uh, what do you mean? I just got a report saying that we have just incurred another 5,000 casualties and that the Western and Eastern Front has stalled. There seemed to be some fear in Nyms eyes. He quickly explained. My Leader. You have to understand. Defeats happen. This was to be expected. Tarron couldnt believe what he was hearing. He roared. The entire High Command Office seemed to fall silent. DEFEATS HAPPEN!? A single Blitzpanzer Division pushed back these humans for hundreds of miles on AN ENTIRE FRONT, BY ITSELF yet you say these same humans were able to defeat an entire Magipanzer Corps!? A SINGLE Blitzpanzer Division! Its one of the most lightly FUCKING armed division in the ENTIRE FUCKING ARMY! It was designed based on speed! Not the fucking hard-hitting Magipanzer Corps. They were designed to break through the enemy lines! It was only a few days ago that mere Blitzpanzer Divisions were pushing these humans back and NOW you are telling me that the humans somehow, in this short amount of time, were able to regroup, mobilize, and counter our Magipanzer Corps! You better start seeing this as a problem and start thinking of solutions! Nym wanted to point out the various flaws in that statement such as the fact that it wasnt an entire Magipanzer Corps that was attacking the humans but a single Magipanzer Division however that didnt make much difference and he was quaking too much in fear to do so. Tarron was extremely angry because the invasion had already stalled. This wasnt what he had planned out at all. The humans shouldnt have been able to put up this much resistance against the Elves advanced technology. Sure the humans might win some battles, but nothing as major as causing an entire front to come to a halt. After a few seconds of calming down, Tarron narrowed his eyes before turning towards Aegord. Nym silently deflated in relief. And just like that, sound started to come back in the High Command Office as everyone got back to work. What wave are we on? The third wave is currently landing. What are the current numbers of our invasion force? We should have more than a million ground troops, six thousand magipanzers, and a thousand aircraft in the human Empire by the time the 3rd wave finishes landing. Have the first wave stop and link up with the rest of its force. Wait for the Air Force and the second wave of ground forces to catch up. Oh also, speed up the landings. Something doesnt feel right. After learning more about the exact situation from the High Command Office, Tarron got back to his office and called up his aide. Get me the Head of the Intelligence Department and the Head of the Advancement Department. Less than 30 minutes later, two elves walked in. Anfalen Inaneiros, Head of Intelligence, and Ruehnar Wynxisys, Head of Advancement. They saluted. My Leader! Sit. Noticing the unhappy air around Tarron, they sat down as fast as possible. You two have heard of what was recently going on in the war, correct? Ruehnar responded immediately. As up to date as yesterday, My Leader. New information has come in today. We have suffered 5,000 casualties and the Western and Eastern Front has come to a halt. Thats terrible, My Leader! Anfalen stayed silent and listened. I have called you two in today because I have received information from the General Staff that the humans are possessing helicopters. Hm? Humans possessing helicopters? Im confident in our departments prediction. The humans should not have helicopters based on their predicted technological advancement. Could it be another aircraft or a special dragon? No. The description clearly matches a helicopter. Anfalen finally spoke up. I think I know why the humans possess advanced aircraft. That caught Tarrons attention. Elaborate. Anfalen explained about the human newspaper he came into possession about a few days ago. That it said the human Empire had split into two Imperiums called the Magus and Mach. And that it claimed there was this country called the United States of America which had advanced weaponry. And why did you not tell me this earlier? Sorry, My Leader, but it was only one newspaper article. We could not confirm it with any other source. Giving false information would be much worse than giving none. However, recent events clearly show that this article may hold some truth. I thought you had agents attached to the Army units? Why were you only able to secure such a small amount of intelligence? Anfalen let out an exasperated sigh. Well, the Army keeps on burning everything down! We can get no intelligence because everything turned into charcoal! Tarron looked out of his office after dismissing them. This "United States of America" was going to be a problem if they truly existed. He needed to have a private meeting with Anaflen. 1150 April 5th, 2020 CE 0555 Sun 5th, 196 AE Magusian Secondary Defense Line A line of M1A2 Abrams started to approach their position from the road. The Magusians stared at the American tanks in wonder. Lieutenant Colonel Parker watched as an M1A2 Abrams rolled up next to his makeshift headquarters. The commander hatch popped open and a person looked out. Lieutenant Colonel William Parker? Yes? Lieutenant Colonel Manfred Rogers. Commander of the 3rd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, part of the 1st Armored Division that has come to help. You''re late. What took you so long? The fucking Machians have better roads. Maggy roads are complete shit. They might as well have put mud down and called it a road and their damn wooden bridges can''t hold up shit I see you got into a fight. He looked at the burnt-out tree line. The Air Force pushed them back. Lost a few men. LTC Rogers nodded Rest of the brigade combat team is coming. There will be a push to clear the elves out of these jungles. I have heard. The Air Force should be getting ready to pound them right now. Just then, jets were heard overhead. They looked up. Speak of the devil. A few miles from the jungle Through the radio, Lieutenant General Ara shouted in surprise at the order she was given. <<>> They had barely got any actions and were quite a few miles away from the jungle. And it was all because they were delayed in Anbellium. In the jungle The 37th and 26th Magipanzer Regiments were on complete retreat. Their magipanzers lined the roads as they fled out of the forest. Colonel Rolim Trakkas got on his radio to tell his battalion commanders the new orders. <<< We have been given orders to retreat, regroup and set up a defense line. We will wait for the second wave of units to arrive before we begin our offensive.>>> 1245 April 5th, 2020 CE 0622 Sun 5th, 196 AE Outside of the forest The 2nd Battalion of the 26th Magipanzer Regiment was a few miles ahead of Colonel Trakkass 37th Magipanzer Regiment. Their magipanzers filled the plains outside of the jungle. Suddenly a noise could be heard behind them. The ground exploded and dust was thrown up in the air. In a straight line, multiple magipanzers were disabled. BRRRRRRRT Chapter 40 Part 1 – Armored Advance RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the short chap! One more week and we will be back to normal... now time to do more writing for my college applications. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Sabaton Light in the Black https://youtu.be/_HLNMfCBUb0 "My men can eat their belts, but my tanks have gotta have gas" - General George S. Patton 1245 April 5th, 2020 CE 0622 Sun 5th, 196 AE Outside of the forest Dirt flew up as bullets hit the ground around and on the magipanzers. 30 mm bullets punctured holes into the Stallions that were in the line of fire. BRRRRRT The battalion was surprised by the sudden rain of death. Magipanzers stopped in their tracks. Various bombs and missiles score direct hits on the tops of some of the magipanzers. <<>> A different voice on the magiradio disrupted Colonel Aewraeks reply. <<>> As the A-10 Warthog started coming around again, the magipanzer formations scattered in an attempt to avoid its deadly line of fire. More magipanzers were destroyed by the hail of guided munitions. <<>> 1255 April 5th, 2020 CE 0627 Sun 5th, 196 AE Magusian Secondary Defense Line Major General Bernart marveled at one of the American M1A2 Abrams. Right now, more vehicles from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Divison were pouring in Such a big gun! Such smooth armor! Lieutenant Colonel Parker, how is your country able to produce so much of these marvels? Bernart was so focused on the tank that he didnt notice Lieutenant Colonel Parkers sigh. Im not an engineer so Im not exactly sure. Our technology surpasses yours by more than 100 years so thats something I guess. 100 years! Can you please tell me more about these marvelous magitanks! As I said Im not an engineer. And they are not called magitanks. They are 100% mechanical tanks like the ones that the Machians have. Lieutenant Colonel Rogers laughed as he approached them. He had been watching the conversation unfold. Even though he didnt exactly understand what was being said, he got the gist of it. Dont know much about tanks do you? Nah, just dont like answering all of his questions. He asks too much. I will gladly tell him if you translate. Are we setting off soon? Not yet. The infantry isn''t here. Parker turned to Bernart Its your lucky day, Major General Bernart. My friend here, Lieutenant Colonel Rogers who is a commander of a tank battalion is quite knowledgeable about the M1A2 Abrams. I will translate what he says. Rogers coughed. Okay, so this is an M1A2C Abrams tank. The most modern variation of the Abrams tank. The first Abrams tank, the M1 Abrams was introduced about 40 years ago in my world by our country. Its known as one of the best proven tanks. I wont go too much into detail but here are some basics. It has a special type of armor that in some areas is equivalent to 1,000 mm of steel against kinetic energy. Its gun is a 120 mm cannon that can penetrate more than 500 mm of steel. Its top speed on the road is about 42 mph if I remember correctly. 1000 mm of steel! Is your government willing to sell us information on how to make it ourselves? This was something that Parker could answer. No, its even top-secret in my old world. Im also pretty sure you lack the capability to produce it. Bernart didnt give up. How about selling us one of these? Uhhh, your government will have to ask our government about that. Bernart looked a bit sad whilst still sliding his hand on the Abrams armor A young Magusian soldier came running up to them. He saluted and presented a folded piece of paper to Bernart. Major General Bernart. Message from HQ. He opened it up and read the contents. Seems like we are to advance with you. Parker nodded and turned towards Rogers. Any word on when the offensive will begin? An estimated 20 to 30 minutes from now I guess. The infantry isnt that far. We will be advancing while the Air Force conducts its strikes. 0100 April 5th, 2020 CE 0630 Sun 5th, 196 AE M1A2 Abrams started moving onto the road and into the jungle. Most of the trees there had been burnt to the ground. LTC Rogers spoke into his radio to his armor company commanders <<>> A bunch of destroyed Elven magipanzers was clumped up on the road leading out of the jungle. <<>> Chapter 40 Part 2 – Armored Advance RonTheBlackCat 0_0 I have been so tired that I just realized that its Chapter 40. I have never thought that I will ever write this much in my entire life XD. How many words have I written so far... let''s see... about 80,000 words. Wow, that''s a lot. Also, HURRAY! We will be going back to normal full chapters after this week. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Sabaton Back In Control https://youtu.be/_gHdWBK1724 "On the seventh day, the Lord looked over His creation and saw that it was good. He said, Let there be a breed of great warriors to protect the people from evil. They shall ride beasts of iron and steel and speak with breaths of fire and destruction. All that is evil shall fear them. The people shall call these warriors who are masters of their beasts: TANKERS And on this day Satan stood at attention." 0100 April 5th, 2020 CE 0630 Sun 5th, 196 AE In the jungles Colonel Trakkas was unhappily talking to Colonel Arewakas on the radio. Because of the precarious situation that they were in, they decided not to meet outside. <<>> Another radio message interrupted their conversation. <<>> A few minutes earlier The B Company of the 2nd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment moved down the road of the jungle in a single file line. The lush green jungle surrounded them on all sides. Sunlight barely came through the canopy. The 14 Abrams of the company came to a stop. <<>> A few minutes after taking the right road, B Company rounded a curved road and came to an abrupt stop again. <<>> Right around the curve was an entire elf tank company in a single file line. The front Abrams had just driven right up the back of one of the elf tanks. A round from the front Abrams blasted the back of it. A large explosion caught the attention of the rest of the Medium Magipanzer Company of the 3rd Battalion. Soon they realized that a Knight in the back of their formation had just been destroyed. <<>> The Knights and Guards started traversing their turrets and their tanks to face the Abrams. The Knights at the back of the formation slowly turned their turrets. The two Abrams behind the front one went off onto the left and right side of the road to engage the elves. With a rate of fire of more than 15 rounds a minute and the fact that it took a Knight about 30 seconds to traverse its turret 180 degrees, the three Abrams were able to take out all of the elf tanks in the back. Soon, they pushed aside the destroyed elf tanks and moved forward against the surviving ones that were in the middle of turning their tanks around. Finally turned around, a shot from a Knight tank ricocheted off of the right cheek of one of the Abrams. An Abrams returned fire and knocked it out in one shot to its front armor. The other elf tanks joined in on the firing but all their rounds glanced off. <<>> A high explosive round struck and exploded on the cheek of another Abram. The Knight crew that fired the shell cheered after it struck. The large explosion seemed to convince them that they had destroyed it. Then through the clearing smoke, it continued firing as if nothing had happened. The high explosive rounds exploded all around the other Abrams but still, it had no effect. <<>> The voice on the other side of LTC Pahices magiradio cut off. <<>> Destroyed Knights and Guards were strewn across the road in the jungle. It was basically like shooting fish in a barrel with a shotgun. 0112 April 5th, 2020 CE 0936 Sun 5th, 196 AE One of the Elven Advance Landing Grounds Two pilots were on break in one of the hastily constructed Temporary Buildings. I heard the Army got orders to stop their advance. Eh, no concern to us. We are the Air Force. As long as the Army isnt pushed back, we will be fine. Well, I heard it was because of some special human aircraft. That definitely will concern us. What if they come to attack our airbases? Nothing to worry about. We will detect them with our MUDs" The Mana Usage Detectors? I thought the humans didnt use mana to power their aircraft. Oh uhhh. I meant the MWEs the uh yeah the Mana Wave Emitters. You know what those are right? Never heard of them. Well, they are kind of a new invention. They send out mana waves in many directions and at large distances. When a mana wave hits an object in the sky, it bounces back towards us which allows us to detect it. How do you know so much? I asked one of the people who used them. He was kinda weird but gave me a very long explanation. A Magusian Airbase given to the US Six F-35As took to the skies. Chapter 41 – Destruction (BRRRRTTTT) RonTheBlackCat Sheesh, I''m really writing these on a tight schedule. Especially with my college applications. Hopefully, my schedule becomes less chaotic once winter break rolls around. Well, I already finished my Early Decision/Early Action essays (Horray!) but I still got my Regular Decision ones (sigh -_-). Hopefully, I can go back to actually calmly enjoying writing this by December. Well thanks for listening to my rant again (Sheesh I should really stop ranting) Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Sabaton Winged Hussars https://youtu.be/g1roJSMMFxY (Doesn''t really fit but I guess the video was cool) "If I see that the Russians are amassing their planes for an attack, I''m going to knock the shit out of them before they take off the ground." - Air Force General Curtis LeMay 0904 April 6th, 2020 CE 0732 Sun 6th, 196 AE Advanced Landing Ground 4 The advance of the army had overtaken the range of the Air Force again. It was very problematic for them to keep up. Advanced Landing Ground 4, was the closest airfield to the current frontline. It was the base of Fighter Group 4 which consisted of more than 100 Ea-192s. Advanced Landing Grounds were quickly constructed and temporary airfields that were used to support advancing ground forces that got out of range. After clearing out a suitable area, a special material was placed down to serve as a runway. It took two to three days to construct one that could only support fighter aircraft. It took longer for them to be able to make them suitable for bombers. The place was quiet. There hadnt been much activity in recent days. The human air force in the area had already been obliterated during the start of the invasion. The Air Force had easily cleared the skies and the Army had captured all the airfields in the area. A fighter section which consisted of 4 Ea-192s prepared to conduct a routine patrol. Propellers started and they drove onto the runway. One by one, they went down the runway and got off the ground. Ground crews ran around. Some were at their aircraft doing maintenance and checks. It was all normal until a fiery, orange explosion rocked the middle of the runway. A strange noise could be heard as something flew over. Advanced Landing Ground 4s headquarters was a hastily constructed building at the end of the airfield. There were many rooms in it each with a different purpose. Bursting into one of these rooms, an adjutant shouted an urgent report. Lieutenant Colonel! The runways been cratered! There are human aircraft in the sky! As if on cue, the sound of the airfields anti-aircraft thauguns firing started. Lieutenant Colonel Thuridan Binan, commander of Fighter Group 4, quickly got out of his office. He walked through the hallway and flung open the door to the detection room. He shouted to the men inside. What the hell! How did they get past the detection equipment?! The operators in the detection room who have been intensely staring at the screens as if searching for something replied without looking up. Our MWEs are not detecting anything significant. Only minor blips. Switch to the MUDs then! Nothing at all. There are clearly human aircraft over us. We are getting bombed! A small moment of silence passed. There might be some... problems with the equipment? Damn your faulty equipment! Binan quickly walked out with his adjutant following. Get the combat air patrols back to engage the enemy aircraft. Find out if the runway is still usable. If it is, get all Ea-192s off the ground. Many smaller explosions rocked the base as the enemy targeted the aircraft that were sitting on the ground. Black puffs filled the sky as the 88 anti-aircraft thauguns tried to hit whatever aircraft was trying to assault them. They had expected an attack to include many dive bombers or bombers. So far, the skies seemed unexpectedly empty. Cluster bombs dropped by multiple F-35s fell on the lined up Ea-192s on the ground. Lines of explosions caused by the bomblets rocked the base. The ground seemingly shook from the power of it. Aircrew and ground crew were thrown to the ground as their aircraft were seemingly squashed by explosions. Chaos descended on the base as the elves sought shelter from the bombs. Their original order of trying to get the planes off the ground was completely forgotten when they saw that approaching their aircraft most likely meant death. Another F-35 flew towards the airfield. Opening its bomb bay, it released a single bomb far away from its target. The GBU-31 JDAM flew towards the headquarters of the airfield. The 2,000 lb warhead hit and a massive explosion obliterated a large part of the building. The combat air patrol that lifted off earlier flew back towards the airbase at maximum speed. They had just been alerted to what happened and weren''t far away. The six F-35s turned around after destroying a large portion of the enemy airbase. They got into formation once again. <<>> From one of the F-35s open bomb bay, two AIM-120 AMRAAM detached from the bottom and blasted forward. From another F-35, two more came out. <<>> <<>> One of the four Ea-192s in the combat air patrol seemingly crumpled as it exploded like a firework in the air. The three remaining broke formation in surprise. <<>> Another Ea-192 seemingly imploded. The two remaining that tried to flee were blown out of the sky a few seconds later. A few minutes later Another combat air patrol that was further away finally got back to the airbase. Surprise filled their eyes as they surveyed the destruction. It seemed like a massive air attack. The runway had been cratered in multiple places. Burning planes could be seen everywhere on the ground. Black smoke rose from the airbase and choked the skies. The magibattery storage building and headquarters were largely destroyed. High Command Office Field Marshal Gaels face slowly darkened as his adjutant read the report. We have lost contact with Advance Landing Grounds 4, Advanced Landing Grounds 7, and Captured Airbase 3. Its a human attack. Alert all other airbases. Increase combat air patrols. Make sure that not a fly can pass through. Jungles Fortresses from the Heavy Tank Company of the 3rd Battalion tried to cover the retreat of the rest of their battalion. They even hoped that maybe their heavier armor and bigger gun could actually do something. <<>> No matter how many mana shells they throw at them, the human tanks show no damage other than a couple of scratch marks or burns. On the other hand, the Fortresses were being penetrated in single shots. Their magipanzers were being destroyed left to right. 0946 April 6th, 2020 CE 0753 Sun 6th, 196 AE Jungles Colonel Trakkas looked conflicted as his magipanzer went down the road. They had no choice but to take the risk of running out in the open. They had a much better chance of surviving air attacks than being engaged by enemy magipanzers. Plains outside of the jungles The 2nd Battalion of the 26th Magipanzer Regiment burst out of the jungle again. This time all seemed quiet. No planes were harassing them. Then one of the magipanzers exploded. <<>> Hovering a few miles away and perpendicular to the elves were two Apache squadrons. <<>> An Apache pilot said merrily to everyone else in his squadron. His Apache raked one of the elf tanks which blew up right after. Then in his view, dirt was thrown up violently. BRRRRRRTTTT BRRRRRRTTTT <<>> The ground shook as two A-10s pounded the fleeing 2nd Battalion. Jungles About 15 minutes later In his magipanzer, Colonel Aewraek contacted Colonel Trakkas. <<< My 3rd Battalion has been nearly decimated by the humans magipanzers. We have to get out as fast as possible. How is your 2nd Battalion? They have suffered heavy casualties but it seems like the human air support ran out of ammo or something. That is probably our best chance of getting out of here.>>> Simon Holayra quietly sat on the branch of a tree. He felt much safer in the jungle than on the open ground. He watched as a human magipanzer destroyed a Fortress with ease. Seems like they arent as inferior as we thought. He mockingly used that word that his fellow soldiers had always liked to use when referring to the humans. He looked down on his rifle which was sitting on his lap. It wont do much against a magipanzer. He was waiting for the chance when a human commander popped out of their hatch. That hasnt happened so far which was surprising. Usually, a magipanzer commander will need to survey their entire surroundings once in a while. Outside the jungle Which IDIOT thought this was a good idea?! AAHHHHH! Corporal Daejor screeched as his Guard barreled down the plains and shook from the constant explosions around him. Charred holes and destroyed magipanzers littered the once lush, green plain. His magipanzer had to do weird maneuvers to go through available openings. In the skies <<< There are so much damned destroyed tanks that I cant see shit. To all Wolfpack callsigns, we are repositioning further north.>>> The Apache squadron turned and moved forward. The explosions around Daejors magipanzer stopped. Jungles Hm these look like Tiger tanks from World War 2. Could their leader be a reincarnation of Hitler? Lieutenant Colonel Rogers chuckled at Lieutenant Colonel Parkers comment. Well, you never know. We got transported to this world with magic so anything is possible at this point. I will be able to tell my gramps that we killed Hitler again. Bradleys from the mechanized rifle company of the 2nd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment moved up the road behind them. On the road at the sides of the Bradley was the Magusian infantry from their 41st Division. We will be able to push them out of the jungle in no time. These elves also seem to be avoiding the jungle. I always thought that they were tree huggers or something. Guess they are different from our fictions. They did industrialize so they might have caused them to change. How is the rest of the front? Last I heard from HQ, it''s going smoothly. Apaches flew overhead as they headed back to their airbase. In the air further outside the jungles An hour later An MQ-1C Gray Eagle flew overhead. Its networked electronic warfare, remotely-operated (NERO) system activated. As it flew over the elf forces, it started jamming all nearby radio communications. COL Trakkas tiredly surveyed the passing grass plains around him. He and COL Aewraek had somehow survived because of a lull in the humans air attacks. <<< We have barely made it out. Thank goddess that the human aircraft have run out of ammo again. How much of our force do we even have left. Im not sure at this point. But we have certainly suffered massive casualties. We have to make haste and get to our defense line. I will inform the Lieutenant General.>>> The MQ-1C Gray Eagle over them continued to jam all radio communications in the area <<<"Lieutenant General? This is Colonel Trakkas of the 26th Magipanzer Regiment How is the retreat, Colonel? We suffered heavy casualties because of the human Air Force. At least 50 - 60% of our force has been destroyed. Their attacks have died down but we fear they will come back. We are making haste towards the defense position. About that Colonel, we have some bad news. A sigh came over the magiradio before Lieutenant General Faekas continued. All nearby airbases have been destroyed. Impossible! We are pulling the defense line further back in order to have them under air cover. The new position is 25 miles further. Its close to Advanced Landing Grounds 7.>>> A noise disturbed the magiradio conversation. BRRRRRRTTTT Chapter 42 – Defense and Situations RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/vhnrhlN9pDw Sabaton The Art of War The United States Navy carries the might and the mission of America to the farthest parts of the world" - President George W. Bush 1046 April 6th, 2020 CE 0823 Sun 6th, 196 AE Plains not far from the jungles A magiradio message interrupted Colonel Trakkass conversation. <<<"The damn inferiors are back! Its one of their weird looking planes again!>>> <<>> Colonel Trakkas changed his mana frequency to Colonel Arewakas. <<>> 1052 April 6th, 2020 CE 0826 Sun 6th, 196 AE In the jungles He wasnt sure if the magipanzer regiments that he got attached to were even alive. But he knew that his unit definitely wasnt. They had probably been burned to a crisp at the tree line or captured. Holayra looked around. He was on a tree that was very close to where the jungle met the roads. He had wanted to take a shot whenever the chance was presented to him. It never happened even though multiple human magipanzers had traveled through. He started climbing down. It was likely that human infantry were already in the jungle. He really wasnt that good when it came to close-quarter combat. He did have a knife and pistol but his skills were quite questionable with them. He sighed to himself. This is why I hate the jungles sometimes. He needed to get away from the road and deeper into the jungle. This was probably the only way he could prevent being captured. Deciding to sneak out of the jungle during the night, he started moving so it took him deeper into the jungle and closer to the plains. 1112 April 6th, 2020 CE 0836 Sun 6th, 196 AE Infantry from the 82nd Airborne moved through large swaths of the jungle. They had to make sure that no elves were hiding. If there was even a company-sized elf unit, it would spell some trouble for the future. They have already captured a few dozen elf infantry. However, they had been very disorganized. They seem to be the survivors from the incendiary attack. Inside one of the M2A3 Bradleys on the road in the jungle, Private First Class Issac Miles looked down at his rifle. He was a rifleman in the 1st Squad of 2nd Platoon in A Company of the 2nd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment. In the somewhat cramped passenger compartment where he and his squad were, there was only red light. Issac looked towards his squad. When the fucking hell are we getting out of this damn jungle. Shouldnt be that long, Private. Well, we dont even know if we are gonna dismount once we get out so dont get your hopes up. Its too fucking hot in here. Well the fucking AC is broken again. "We have so much fucking money in the budget yet they can''t get a simple fucking AC fixed." 1448 April 6th, 2020 CE 1024 Sun 6th, 196 AE Plains not far from the jungle The human air attacks have been constantly on and off. Thankfully, the sun had just set and the only thing illuminating the area was the moon. Based on strict orders, none of the magipanzers or magitrucks opened their headlights. Only the engines of the vehicles could be heard in the dead silence of the night. Suddenly a distinct chopping noise could be heard. <<>> The sound of engines died down and a chopping noise filled the air. The elven magipanzer crew hoped that the human aircraft couldnt see them. Then streaks of light came from the sky. A magipanzer exploded. <<>> The humans could somehow see them even during the night. In the sky Through the Apache''s green night-vision screens, the elf tanks were clearly outlined in a darker shade. Right outside the jungle Simon Holayra slowly walked out of the jungle with his rifle in his hand. It seemed completely quiet. The dark of the night blanketed him. He started running. 2307 April 6th, 2020 CE 0244 Sun 7th, 196 AE Elven Defense Line In one of the intact villages left by the Eastern Army, elves ran around. Some carried antipersonnel thauguns (APTGs) with one hand and others held either antipersonnel subthauguns (APSTGs) or magirifles. Antipersonnel subthauguns were the smallest type of thauguns. Thauguns represented anything that shot at a high rate of fire. In a window overlooking the road to the entrance of the village, an APSTG was set up. The humans who lived in this village had already been all either killed and buried in a pit a few days ago or were being transported to the elven continent. Move it! Get that APTG on that window!! In a house, a first lieutenant shouted at his men. Anti-tank magicannons were also being set up on various roads and sandbags were placed down everywhere. Outside of the village on the plains, 88mm anti-aircraft thauguns were being uncoupled from their trucks. A massive defense line was being formed. Elves quickly dug trenches and foxholes on the plains. Any bumps or small hills on the plains were being used as a strategic position. The first wave of the Eastern Army was doing its best to prepare its defenses and hold out until the second wave arrived. Major General Ara Balra yawned. She opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling of the human house she was in. She got off the bed and smoothed her crumpled uniform. It had been so boring for the past few days. It was all just setting up defenses and positioning the magipanzers. She understood that some was definitely off. If this was preceding normally, they would have already been past the jungles. Now it was just reports of defeats and retreats. Based on her theory, even if the humans were technologically on par with them, their surprise attack wont have stalled this early. She walked out of the house, the sun was just rising. Afvalin, Elven Nation Light rain pattered the window to his office. It was very cloudy and gloomy outside. The 27th and 36th Magipanzer Regiments of the 33rd Magipanzer Corps have suffered massive casualties. At least 60% of their forces have been destroyed. According to their reports, the human magipanzers seem invincible and are capable of taking out ours in one hit. They have suffered continued harassment by the human Air Force even during the night. Is that all for that front? We have established a solid line of defense at the area where our destroyed airfields were. The second wave is fast approaching that line. From your orders, the offensive will start again once the second wave reaches the units from the first wave. How about the front against the kingdoms? We have been stretched a bit thin there but because of how technological inferior they are, it hasnt become an issue yet. Good. Dismissed. Tarron turned his head to his aide who was beside him. I need the Head of Intelligence. Call him to my office. Less than 30 minutes later, Anfalen Inaneiros entered the office. He took off his coat and hung it on the rack at the side. He saluted. My Leader, you called? Yes, sit down. We need to have an important conversation. After Anfalen took a seat, Tarron continued talking Have you been able to collect any new information on the United States of America? We have learned some new things from the newspaper articles and the humans we interrogated. Do you have a map? Tarron Venharice rustled out a map that was in a drawer in his table. He flattened it on the desk. Thank you. From the information we gathered, the United States of America is located on the Formidon continent. He pointed at it on the map. You are saying that those backwater humans were able to develop such advanced technology? Tarron was referring to the original natives of the Formidon continent. No. According to the human news article, the United States of America suddenly appeared. We arent sure how but some of the captured humans say that they come from another world. We cant confirm if it is actually true but that is the general consensus. Are we sure these United States of America people are actually human? From the interrogations, they are. I guess we need to deal with these other-worldly humans. We can assume that they definitely have superior technology. But to what level? We cant confirm that. Ok, thank you, dismissed. Please report to me if you discover any more news. After Anfalen left, Tarron sighed and spoke to himself. The problem now is how to deal with them. Our forces are currently getting battered by their ground and air units hmmm Should we launch a surprise attack using our navy? Maybe we can go past the Insula continent and make a beach landing on the other side. Tarron stared at the map splayed out on his table. It was a very old map. It showed the bottom of the Formidon continent as rounded. In the seas An US carrier group consisting of 3 carriers, 18 destroyers, 3 cruisers, 3 submarines approached the tip of the Soane continent. The aircraft carriers were the USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Gerald R. Ford, and USS Harry S. Truman. Rear Admiral Jay Burns of the Abraham Lincoln scanned the ocean with his binoculars. The skies were gray and the ocean was a bit rocky. We are closing in on the area where the main elf navy is stationed at. We will clear these ships out and then begin an assault on their landings. 5 carriers were under maintenance. This meant that 50% of active US aircraft carriers were being deployed for this. The other three active carriers were spread out. One was supporting combat operations on the western side of the Magus Imperium which was quite close to them. The second one was situated between the Bem Kingdom and Mach Imperium for security reasons. The last one was on the west coast of the United States. Chapter 43 – Naval Onslaught RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/B19nFgS4eMc Sabaton Wehrmacht What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fightits the size of the fight in the dog.- President Dwight D. Eisenhower Minor reminder: The Ron in the story has a somewhat similar personality to me. Thats gonna be all. His overall personality and life are very different from mines. Landing Zones in the Magus Imperium There was a lot of commotion on the beach. Elves ran around carrying things that ranged from weapons to building materials. A landing craft opened up its doors to let its contents directly out onto the sands of the beach. A large clanking and rumbling noise could be heard as the beast inside slowly came out. Sands shifted from the weight of the beast. Two elf engineers who were on break stared at it. Wow, what is that? I think thats the newest heavy magipanzer. The Fortress II or Grand Fortress or something. Other elves stopped what they were doing and looked at the Fortress II with admiration. The inferiors are definitely toast. 0201 April 7th, 2020 CE 0433 Sun 7th, 196 AE In the middle of the ocean between the Soane and Imperitoria Continent The National Navy hadnt seen much action lately. Originally the National Navy Command had plans to enact a blockade around the entirety of the Imperitoria Continent and destroy all human ships that came close. However, that plan was struck down by the Leader as preposterous. The only glory they got was when the war started and they cleared out all human ships in the vicinity. Then the Leader relegated them to more of a protection and patrol role. Even their glorious battleships have become mere patrol boats. One such battleship, the NN Wyntris, a Venharice-Class battleship, was with its patrol group. A sailor on the ship looked out at the sea. Ugh, why do we even have to be here. Its just sailing and sailing. I havent seen our guns fire in ages. The sailor who was mopping the deck stopped and replied. Meh, I like the peace. Doesnt sailing feel so comfortable? I just love this scenery. The birds, the fish, the water. Just like from a painting. Thats why I became a sailor. I became one because I wanted glory. Glory? Join the National Army then. You arent going to get any in the Navy. A gruff voice came from behind them. Okay enough chit-chatting, get back to work! A not so impressed petty officer was looking at them. Yes, sir A large boom was heard. What the? Within a few seconds, alarms started ringing. The ships speaker sounded. Prepare for combat. Prepare for combat. All elves to positions. The alarm sounded again before the message was given again. Prepare for combat. Prepare for combat. All elves to positions. They dropped their mops and ran across the deck. A bright orange ball consumed the side of the cruiser. By the Goddess! Anti-aircraft guns started firing towards where the mysterious aircraft were coming from. Rear Admiral Ievis Liaric of the patrol group stared at what was happening. Are those suicide aircraft?! I think they are too small to fit a human in! Dont let up with the firing and contact HQ! Afvalin, Elven Nation High Command Office, National Navy Section Sir, Battleship Group 3 is facing an unknown enemy, they are suffering losses should we keep this a secret like we did with that destroyer squadron? The General of the Navy who is also the head of the Naval Department sighed. We cant. This isnt a small destroyer squadron but a battleship group. And besides, the Army has experienced multiple setbacks already, the Leader wont be that disapproving of us. Hopefully. Leaders Mansion Tarron looked at the report. Anfalen, the head of the Intelligence Department, was with him. They seem to be Hexenbesens. Does the United States of America use Hexenbesens? What are Hexenbesens? This is top secret but I suppose its fine to tell you. Just make sure you dont tell anyone else. You will be tried for treason if you did you know, you should really work with the Advancement Department more often. Hexenbesens are basically a bomb that is rocket-powered and can be directed at a location miles and miles away. Of course, they arent that accurate so Im questioning whether or not they are Hexenbesens. Hexenbesens cant hit moving objects. Of course, magirockets from aircraft can but they will still need to be at a close range. Less than an hour earlier In the sea near the tip of the eastern end of the Soane continent F/A-18 Super Hornets broke off after firing their AGM-84 Harpoon missiles. Less than 15 minutes later A person stared at a screen. It seems like most of that group has been destroyed. However, there still are operational ships. They are getting into our range. We can fire the new modified anti-armor Harpoons to finish them off. Back to the present At sea where Battleship Group 3 was located Elves ran around the deck of the NN Wyntris. Are you alright admiral?! Ievis coughed heavily before replying. Im fine. How is the ship? We have received damage to multiple compartments. There are some fires raging. We are still trying to get in contact with everyone. This doesnt seem good. We are currently turning back to port. We also have reinforcements coming to support us. At sea, closer to the Elven continent After reviewing the order, Rear Admiral Hagen Vengella started planning with his aide. We have new orders. Seems like Battleship Group 3 was attacked. We are going on a search and destroy. Any exact information about the enemy? They seem to be using some type of long-range weapon. According to the orders, we have to be extremely cautious about that. Understood sir. Should we start dispatching aircraft? Hagen laughed. We arent even close to where the attack happened. Dont be so eager. Somethings going down. We are being placed under the command of the Silent Admiral. 0803 April 7th, 2020 CE 0736 Sun 7th, 196 AE Afvalin, Elven Nation The capital city has had dreary weather for the past few days. A black magicar went down the gray brick street. The sky was a similar gray as the ground. Magilamps brightened the gloominess. Many elves walked the streets with umbrellas. Those who were able to manipulate water mana held their hands out. As if they had a protective barrier, the raindrops slid off of a seemingly invisible umbrella. The magicar entered what seemed to be a mansion. An elf in a black trench coat, black pants, and black hat came out of the magicar after it stopped. He opened up his black umbrella and walked into the building. Ignoring those that were staring at him, he walked into a room and put his hat on the coat rack. My Leader, nice day isnt it. Zeno, did I not tell you to alert my aides as to when you were coming? Zeno sat on the couch in the middle of the office. I have the new aircraft ready. Tarron sighed. He stood up and went to grab his coat. After a car drive to a far-out and secret location, Tarron stood beside Zeno. Are you sure this is a good day to be testing it? Of course it is! Rain has never failed my work! It even feels nice to stand outside in it. An aircraft with a weird tube under each wing rolled onto the runway. A loud whirring sound seemed to come from the tubes. Tarron stood outside with Zeno Naerora, the top engineer in the Advancement Department. Tarron really didnt like standing in the rain but at Zenos suggestion, he did. The aircraft started going down the runway. Near Industropolis, Mach Imperium Many hundreds of miles to the north, a different engineer was looking around a different vehicle Hmmmm. The armor thickness is actually very similar to World War 2 German panzers. Off by a few centimeters but nothing major. A deep voice responded to that. So our weapons will work on them? They dont have any secret super armor or something? Of course, they are just World War 2 tanks. However, the composition of the armor seem strange though. Some of the metal isnt really metal. Its... weird. Whats even more interesting is the engine and its ammunition. They seem to be the same material as some of the metal. What about them? You know how the Magusians use this thing called magic. Yeah. I have been looking at the Magusian engines. Quite inefficient. We never took deep interest in them because of how terrible they were. Their engines use both fossil fuels and magic. However, they are basically just normal engines with magic as an add-on in case of emergencies. Its just like carrying a bit of extra fuel. The Magusian magic is extremely weak when compared to what our machines can do But Im getting off of my point. These elf engines seem to be much more developed. The engines are wholly dependent on magic. In addition, their ammunition seems to be all magic. There seems to be some sort of magic battery that powers both the engine and provides ammunition. And theres this magic material combined with the rest of the metal in their armor. Uh-huh, so you''re telling me we can easily blow them up. The engineer had a look of resignation on his face. He had already explained it in a less educated way yet the General still didnt understand. Uhhh, General ummm, ya know what, yes. Ok, thats all I needed to know. 1926 April 8th, 2020 CE 0943 Sun 8th, 196 AE Cat Kingdom, United Beastmen Kingdom, Soane Continent Are you even old enough to drink? Subcommander Jeb Miller had a little red on his face as he asked that. Unlike three days ago, Jeb was now able to speak a good amount of Latin. He had been trying to learn it for the past few weeks. Now, with a little help from the locals, he had finally gotten a hang of it. Of course, I am! Im 16 and what do you even mean by old enough. There are drinking age limits in my country. Thats strange. We dont have any here. You guys are lucky. Ron laughed. His face was flushed red. A moment of silence passed between them. Jeb had taken up quite a liking of him during their training. Ron was truly unlucky. He had witnessed incidents of ceiling tiles falling onto him, the floor giving out underneath him, random animals chasing after him, and a bunch of other things. But he seemed quite innocent and kind. Hey, Ron, I have been wondering for quite a while. Yeah? Why are you in the Army? I mean, not to be mean or anything, everyone in your countys Army seems to be the big cat types. Ron looked down at his wooden jug of beer Well Seeing, the uncertainty on Rons face, Jeb realized that there might have been circumstances. You dont have to answer. Nah, its fine. I guess the main reason would be that Madam Flametail is my mother. Jeb looked at Ron in confusion. Hm? You dont look like her at all. Well Madam Flametail adopted and raised me. When I was a mere kitten... Ron stopped and stared at his beer before continuing. I was found on the streets by her. She was already in the Army at that time but still decided to raise me. I dont know who my parents were or what happened to them. I think they abandoned me because I was too unlucky or something. Well, Im in the Army now because mother is in it too. She raised me even when I had no relation to her and was weaker than her I want to help her in any way possible. If it means that I have to take up a sword and go into combat, then be it. Ron looked at his beer with a light smile. He started chugging it. Then, the chair he was sitting on gave out beneath him. RonTheBlackCat By Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-721-0397-34 / Wagner / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71627612 By Hohum - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7305322 Fortress II / Grand Fortress By Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1975-117-26 / Lysiak / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5482824 Hexenbesens Chapter 44 – Elven Naval Gamble RonTheBlackCat I kinda hit a writer''s block last week (I think it was a writer''s block) and I just felt blank in what I was gonna write. Thankfully, I think I got over it today and I know where I''m going now. So no worries. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 "People who don''t gamble aren''t worth talking to" - Isoroku Yamamoto (Brilliant commander-in-chief/admiral who planned the Pearl Harbor attacks) https://youtu.be/AvRZxn7e3hc Sabaton Metal Machine 0220 April 8th, 2020 CE 0410 Sun 8th, 196 AE Somewhere between Soane Continent and Imperitoria Continent It was a new day. The sea was getting rocky and the skies were grey with clouds. A cold breeze blew throughout the ocean. It was obvious that a storm was coming. Multiple groups of ships were converging on each other and formed a massive fleet. Admiral Edyrm Vaynore sat down on the chair in the specialized command room of his flagship, the aircraft carrier NN Conqueror. Edrym was known as an elf of few words, thus he gained the title of the Silent Admiral; he only spoke when he had to. He was quite a big elf and the chair he was sitting on barely fit him. He looked around at his officers. They silently stared back. He nodded. Begin. Admiral, we have been assigned a new mission. Naval Command has lost contact with Battleship Group 3. Their last message was that they had been attacked and were turning around. Because of this, it is believed that a large human fleet is nearby. Special instruction has also come directly from the Leader. The officer abruptly stopped to let that set in. Edyrm nodded to signal for the officer to continue. Proceed with extreme caution. This is most likely a new enemy. A nation called the United States of America. They are categorized as being more powerful than the Empire. The recent defeats experienced by the Army were caused by them. We believe that they may have weapons that are capable of hitting from extreme ranges. Take this into account. That is the full message from our Leader. In addition, we have also been warned by High Command that if we lose this battle, the supply lines linking our country with our Army fighting in the Empire would be severed. So it is of utmost importance that we prevent this from happening. We have been given a large fleet of 4 Battleship Groups, 4 Fleet Carrier Groups, 3 Light Carrier Groups, 6 Destroyer Squadrons, and 5 Submarine Squadrons. Edrym looked at the map with the blocks placed on it. He sat there staring for a few seconds in silence. He frowned at the supposedly large fleet. A toppled wooden red block with a 3BG labeled on it was set a few feet from a group of wooden red blocks that were not toppled and had various numbers and letters on them. They were also multiple red blocks spread out nearby with SS labeled on each of them. Give me more blocks. The officers brought out more blocks. Edrym started writing on them with a pencil. They were labeled 1.1D, 1.2D, 2.1D, 2.2D and so on and were placed next to the blocks that had the same first number but had BGs on them. Using a stick, he spread the D blocks out and moved them forward. Then blocks labeled DS followed behind. Two of the D blocks, 6.1D and 6.2D were pushed to the south. SS blocks were also pushed forward in seemingly random directions. He bunched together all the BG, FCG, and LCG blocks and very slowly pushed them forward behind the DS and D blocks. Detach the destroyers for scouting. Then he fell silent and let his subordinates carry out the commands. A command was transmitted to all the flagships of each group. All destroyers from each Battleship Group will form their own independent units. Each new independent destroyer unit will keep the numbers of their Battleship Group but will either have a .1 or .2 added. Specific orders will then be given to each unit. Less than 30 minutes later A large and organized formation was formed when the aircraft carriers, cruisers, and destroyers of the aircraft carrier groups converged on the battleships and cruisers of the battleship groups. Destroyers from the battleship groups and destroyer squadrons steamed out in various directions. 0446 April 8th, 2020 CE 0523 Sun 8th, 196 AE Afvalin, Elven Nation <<< My Leader, why is it that you show no approval of sending out the entire might of the Navy? Are we lacking in capability? You are not. Then for such a dangerous enemy, why are you only sending less than half of the fleet? Because I have plans for the other half. What plans? I had wanted to discuss this with you in the future but I suppose now is a good time. Yes, My Leader? General, I have big plans. Prepare the remaining fleet for a long journey. What are you exactly planning, My Leader? We will hit our new enemy where it hurts most. >>> With his phone on his right ear, Tarron stared at the map of the Formidon Continent. Somewhere between Soane Continent and Imperitoria Continent Vice Admiral Angela Walters was called to attention by one of the radar operators. Admiral, We have multiple contacts on our radar from various locations. Let me take a look. The radar operator explained the situation. 3 groups of surface contacts. Spread far out. Seems to be at least a total of 9 surface ships. Probably a patrol. Well, get the Super Hornets loaded up and in the air. We are going duck hunting. Come on, no time to waste! Destroyer Group 4.1, consisting of 3 destroyers, moved at a brisk pace. Using binoculars, an officer scanned the horizon of the rocky seas. All seems clear. The weather is quite stormy though. A few minutes later The front of the lead destroyer was seemingly consumed in a ball of fire. It immediately started sinking after the bright flash of light. Enemy attack! Evasive maneuvers! Elven Main Fleet We have lost contact with Destroyer Group 4.1. Edryms officers have been keeping track of the positions of their units on the map. They made sure that the blocks were as accurate as possible in location. The block labeled 4.1D was toppled with a stick. A small cross marked the estimated location of where it was destroyed. Thats the furthest away destroyer group. Edrym listened to his officer before speaking. Tell the destroyer groups and destroyer squadrons to reverse and spread further out. Make sure that 6.1D and 6.2D dont stop moving south. Then another report came in. We just lost contact with Destroyer Group 2.1. US Fleet Seems like the surface ships are fleeing. Theres one remaining group. Take them all out. They are probably looking for the ships we had sunk. A few minutes later We have come up to another group of surface ships. Destroy them! Elven Main Fleet Destroyer Group 1.1 has been destroyed. Admiral Edrym Vaynore looked at the standing blocks on the map. Destroyer Group 6 status? Nothing has happened to them yet. He started sliding 6.1D and 6.2D back up. Tell them to turn around. Go north. Edryms officers looked around at each other. They were completely perplexed about what he was doing but didnt question it. 30 minutes later US Fleet Two groups of surface ships. This time they are coming from the south. You know the drill. Elven Main Fleet Destroyer Group 6.1 and 6.2 were destroyed. Their blocks were toppled and it was marked. Edrym stared at the map before getting out his pencil. He leaned over on the table and drew a circle connecting the point from destroyed Destroyer Group 6.1 and 6.2 to the point where Destroyer Group 1.1 was destroyed. He drew two lines that crossed at the center of the circle. Blue blocks. His officers handed him the blue blocks. He placed them down onto the center of the circle. Their detection equipment seems to be quite long-ranged. How close do we need to approach before we can launch our aircraft? 0534 April 8th, 2020 CE 0547 Sun 8th, 196 AE A few miles off the coast of the Magus Imperium A Tomahawk missile flew upwards from an Arleigh Burke destroyer before curving left. Light rain pattered the canopy of an F/A-18 Super Hornet sitting on the catapult of the USS Ronald Reagan. A ground crew personnel wearing bright yellow clothing crouched and pointed his two fingers forward. The F/A-18 seemingly rocketed down the catapult and flew upwards towards the grey sky. A few seconds later, another F/A-18 rocketed down the other catapult. They had been out here for a couple of days doing strike missions on targets in the western portion of the Magus Imperium. They have so far decimated multiple elf ground units. Elven defense line Is this all the survivors? Yes sir, we were harassed day and night by human aircraft. We barely held together. Colonel Trakkas and Colonel Aewraek held their heads down in clear defeat. Lieutenant General Faekas sighed. Its fine. Its not only your units. All units beyond this line have faced numerous air attacks. We are taking heavy casualties. The Western Army is faring even worse. There have been reports of numerous attacks by an undetectable force. Even their defense line is barely holding. We are categorizing it as some sort of advanced human magic that we havent developed yet. Information about the condition of the Western Army is also beginning to be restricted. Plains M1A2 Abrams rolled down the plains. Following them were M2A3 Bradleys. In one of the Bradleys, Private Issac Miles yawned and stretched. Because of the amount of destruction the Air Force and Apaches had brought down on the elf units, the plains were clogged with destroyed vehicles. It made travel difficult and slow. The good news was that they were able to get out and rest because of it. Issac was glad that they could even get out of this tin can. Originally it was planned that they would travel nonstop with only short breaks. He didnt know how he was gonna survive that. There had also been reports of snipers but it didnt reality concern him since it was behind the lines. Counter snipers and drones had been deployed but were taking their sweet time to find whoever was taking potshots at the supply units. Couple of casualties had already occurred but nothing too major to stop the offensive. US Air Force Base many miles behind the Jungles In an office, a few high-ranking Air Force officials were discussing their plans. The elves have taken up a defensive position on this line. We have pictures of anti-aircraft guns, artillery embankments, and trenches all along it. They have also set up defenses in all cities near this line. We have been given permission to destroy all elf defenses except for the ones in the cities. Why not the cities? We dont want to bomb any civilians. Are you sure if there are any? From our reports, the elves are extremely anti-human. Wouldnt it be very likely that they all have been executed? We cant discount the possibility of civilians. Our ground forces will clear the cities out. Also, keep in mind that there are multiple elf armies approaching. Chapter 45 – Midway to the Elven Nation RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 "To fight the United States is like fighting the whole world. But it has been decided. So I will fight the best I can." - Isoroku Yamamoto https://youtu.be/OaYchEJBZMY Sabaton Midway 0629 April 8th, 2020 CE 0614 Sun 8th, 196 AE Elven fleet, NN Conqueror The weather is not favorable, but the rain is light and the wind is gentle. The enemy will not expect us for we are the winds of our great nation. The inferiors shall face hell from above. There will be no retreat! By our almighty Goddess and our Leader, we shall secure victory! A massive cheer rose in the room. They saluted multiple times in unison at the picture of the Leader and the Elven flag below it. After doing so, small glasses of beer were passed out to everyone. They raised their small glasses and gulped it down. From a door, the pilots ran onto the deck of the aircraft carrier. Torpedoes and bombs were quickly loaded on. The propellers of their planes spun to life as the ground crew prepared them. A flag was waved and the blocks on the wheels of the aircraft were removed. The flag was then waved down and the first plane went down the runway. Masses of planes in v-formation filled the sky. 30 minutes earlier US Fleet, USS Gerald R. Ford Vice Admiral Angela Walters stared at the screen that was shown to her. Holy Jesus! What the fuck is this?! The radar screen was filled with green dots bunched on one side. An uncountable amount of ships. An officer nodded his head as if in understanding. Seems like the elves already know where we are. They may have sent their entire fleet after us Angela looked surprised. I thought we were jamming their comms? It isnt working then. Multiple F/A-18s were being launched from the three aircraft carriers: USS Gerald R. Ford, USS Harry S. Truman, and USS Theodore Roosevelt. The launching didnt stop for a rather long time. Elven Fleet Sir, multiple destroyer squadrons have been destroyed. Calmly observing the situation unfold, he looked towards the official that made that comment. No change. But sir! Keep going forward. Admiral Edyrm Vaynore knew that the only way for him to succeed was by sacrificing a lot of his fleet. The Leader has told him that heavy losses were acceptable as long as he sunk the human fleet. About two hours earlier Admiral Vaynore had been called to the magram room by one of the operators. He was told that the front page had TOP SECRET stamped onto it which meant it was only for his eyes. Admiral. This is extremely sensitive information that so far only a few government officials and chief generals know. You are the first lower-ranked personnel to learn about this. Disclosure of this information to anybody else is considered treason against the nation. After reading this document, you are required to burn it. Although I have given you information about the United States of America in my instructions, I have not given you the entirety of what we know. I understand that this information will prove vital to your victory. From the Intelligence Departments compiled reports, I will list out some of what we know. Use this information well. Edyrm put his lighter next to the paper. It slowly crumpled into black. Present US Fleet Uh, Admiral, we have another situation. The Hawkeye is detecting multiple signatures. Whats with this many dots again!? Hundreds of aircraft I believe. Have the F-18s reloaded, refueled, and in the air as fast as possible. Also, prepare to launch the missiles once they get close. I dont think our F-18s will be able to stop them all. A few minutes later Um, we have another problem. Our acoustics are detecting multiple underwater contacts. Dammit, its a coordinated attack. Should we send out the Seahawks? Too risky with those enemy aircraft approaching. Use the ASROCs when the submarines get close enough. Focus on the enemy aircraft for now. Elven Fleet The aircraft carriers of the elven fleet were abuzz with elves. Aircraft were being endlessly launched in five to ten minute intervals. Even planes from under the deck meant for reserves were being launched. Admiral, are you sure that we should commit everything to one attack? This is the only chance we have. More than 500 aircraft were in the sky. 144 Ea-192N (naval-modified) fighters, 192 Ra-189N (naval-modified) dive bombers, and 186 Ra-1 torpedo bombers. On both sides of the fuselages on each one was a roundel. It was a red circle with a smaller yellow circle in the middle and a black cross on it. E-2 Hawkeye above the Carrier Strike Group This is worrying. The problem is how are we even going to coordinate this? There is a literal shit ton of targets. A few minutes later In the sky a few miles away from the US Fleet Fox Three! Fox Three! Fox Three! 132 Super Hornets released their load of AIM-120 AMRAAMS towards the horde of elf aircraft. This was one of the biggest deployments that the aircraft carriers have ever done. It was going to be a major headache landing them. Streaks filled the skies as the missiles traveled to their targets. Less than a two hundred miles away A seemingly endless amount of explosions started occurring. Aircraft crumpled or were blown to bits. Metal fell from the skies. No retreat! Fighters shield the bombers! US Fleet At least more than half of the elves aircraft are still in the air! Launch the SM-6s! The VLS on the Arleigh Burkes and Ticonderogas opened up. A giant puff of white smoke came out as missiles took to the sky. We have launched nearly 70% of our SM-6s. Hmmm. Tch. We will have to stop launching them. Leave a few for emergency situations. Ready the SM-2s and ESSMs. Fire when they get in range. A few minutes later Enemy submarines are getting within range now. Admiral, should we switch to the ASROCs? Switch half of the fleet to deal with the approaching subs. The rest will continue focusing on the aerial threat. ASROCs launched upward into the air. They flew straight forward over the ocean before each one seemingly split apart. Torpedoes dropped into the ocean. Underwater about 15 miles away We are approaching the target. Sir, we have detected multiple torpedoes heading our direction! Evade them. The submarine squadron split up in order to avoid the torpedo heading straight at them. Ummmm sir its following. Following?! Whats following? The torpedo. Evade again! Its still following! What do you m... An explosion rocked the side of the submarine and split it in two. Ten minutes later Admiral, we are running low on our SM-2s and ESSMs. Dammit. How much do we have left? Around 30 for each. Stop firing. We will reserve them. Hows our ASROC inventory? The elf submarines seem spread out. They shouldnt pose that much of a threat. Twenty minutes later <<>> With only 25 aircraft left after being hit with hundreds of explosions seemingly conjured out of nowhere, they have finally found what seemed to be a part of the human fleet. <<>> 11 Ra-1 torpedo bombers swooped in for an attack in various directions. They started getting closer to the water. BRRRRRRRRR A wall of 20mm slammed into the torpedo bombers. They were ripped to shreds and some of them caught on fire after being hit. The Phalanx CIWS on the Arleigh Burkes, Ticonderogas, Nimitzs, and Gerald R. Ford had already all swung around to target the torpedo bombers. A single torpedo bomber caught on fire as it was hit with the 20mm. Its torpedo dangled below it before being dropped into the ocean. Miraculously before blowing up, it was able to release a torpedo towards an Arleigh Burke. It silently sped through the waters. However, the pilot had grossly underestimated the speed of the Arleigh Burke. It passed behind without hitting anything. The Phalanx CIWS instantly readjusted to target the 10 Ra-189N dive bombers that had just started their dive. They were ripped out of the air in the same fashion as the torpedo bombers. The pilots in the four remaining fighters who were flying overhead looked on in horror as their brethren were swatted out of the sky in mere seconds. R...Retreat! Elven fleet Admiral, the mission failed. We have lost 518 total aircraft. Only 4 Ea-192Ns are currently returning. They have reported absolutely no damage to the human fleet. Retreat Apprehension was obvious in Edyrms eyes. ...will we even survive US Fleet Angela conversed with her officers. Admiral, do we continue? It seems like they are retreating. We can blow them out of the water. How many anti-air missiles do we have left? We should still have at least 10 SM-6s, 20 SM-2s, and around 40 ESSMs. The F-18s are extremely low on AMRAAMs. We do still have the shorter range Sidewinders though. And a butt ton of Phalanx CIWS 20 mms We should retreat. This could be a trap and we do not have the capability to deal with another massed air attack. We will experience an unacceptable number of casualties if we continue. I agree, Admiral, if the elves launch another 500 planes, we wont be able to deal with them. The elf who is commanding that fleet knows what they''re doing. They used their numerical advantage. That''s probably the only advantage they even have and their commander used it perfectly. We have to be cautious The others nodded at that. Then set a route to home base immediately. Washington D.C. President Hayes was given the latest report on the Navys effort to cut off the elves. They blunted our naval attack. Any ships lost? None. The carrier strike group ran extremely low on anti-air missiles. The Vice Admiral Walters made a snap decision to retreat since she didnt want to risk losing 3 aircraft carriers. Basically mission failed. We didnt cut off the elves. We did do substantial damage to their naval air wing. We cant consider this a major failure. The carrier strike group was more armed against surface threats than aerial ones. We didnt expect that they could bring their carriers so close. We will return with a larger fleet and cut them off. Afvalin, Elven Nation A few days later Edyrm showed up in Tarrons office. Tarron looked up to see who came and smiled. Ah, Admiral. Congratulations! Although you did not destroy the human fleet, I commend you for stopping their advance. You have saved the Army from perish. Thank you. Now what are you here for? Do you want a reward? I will gladly give you anything if its within reason. Edyrm handed Tarron an envelope. Tarron took it and took a glance at what was scribbled on the front. ... notice of resignation?! Admiral! What is the meaning of this?! Edyrm shook his head. Admiral, you didnt fail. You did an excellent job! Your mission was to stop the humans from cutting us off. Sure we lost a few destroyers and more than 500 aircraft but they are minor compared to losing millions of soldiers and thousands of magipanzers. Edyrm shook his head again and started to leave. Admiral, wait. Tarron was ignored. He sighed and sat down after Edrym walked out. Looking at the envelope, he opened it and read the contents. I live with the guilt of more than a thousand lives. I may have partially accomplished my mission but at what costs? The enemy has not even been scratched. My Leader, I understand that these are treasonous words. But I will express them nonetheless. I beg for mercy for the words that I write in this letter. I do not see victory for us. Defeat is clear. The path forward is bleak. We have lost the moment we started. I implore you, even if you scorn me for suggesting this, to negotiate with the humans. Especially the United States of America. Former Admiral Edyrm Vaynore Tarron slammed his desk. He threw the paper at the wall. He then threw a random paperweight that was sitting on his desk How dare he! GUAR Tarron stopped and took small deep breaths. Edrym was one of the most revered admirals in the Navy. If he killed him off, the Navy might mutiny. I still need him too. Chapter 46 – Operation Vengeance Hammer RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the delay. I had a power outage last night that ruined all my plans. :/ Starting this chapter, I have decided to shift more of the focus on the US perspective. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/gUiB7nJ23xE Devil at my Door by Valor Valor "We must be the great arsenal of Democracy." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt 0028 April 8th, 2020 CE 0314 Sun 8th, 196 AE US Airbase miles behind the Jungle First Lieutenant Scott Miller got out of the dressing room with the rest of his squadron. One of the men in his squadron, First Lieutenant Hayden Chambers, made an off-hand remark as they walked through the hallway. Kinda lucky we got the airbase next to a town. Wanna go out to eat tomorrow or something. I heard they had taverns there. Always wanted to try food from the past. Scott chuckled and commented on that I prefer not to get food poisoning. People in the past ate that. I think people nowadays can still eat it. First Lieutenant George Cooper, another one of the men in the squadron, shook his head and agreed with Scott. Nah man, aint no one eating that shit. I heard they dont even have something like the FDA. You gonna get sick as fuck. Scott nodded his head. Besides, how are you going to tell them what you want to order? You cant even speak Latin. Yes, I can. Hayden coughed before speaking his so-called Latin. ?Qu hay en tu men? See. A few seconds of silence was immediately followed with bellowing laughter. Thats Spanish dumbass. Hayden looked around unhappily. Well, Latin Americans speak Spanish. The laughing was even louder than last time. Ah, Hayden, you never fail to make us laugh. What? They stepped out onto the runway of the airfield. Scott scanned around. It looked much better than when he first came here. Originally the runway was just bumpy, uneven dirt. Now it was smoothed out and sandy colored. The old Magusian buildings have been renovated and makeshift ones have been added. Scott and his squadron walked towards their aircraft that were lined up on the dirt. Ready to blow some of them pointy ears to smithereens? Pointy ears? Seriously? Yeah, what else we gonna call them? Tree huggers? Scott watched as an F-15E Strike Eagle taxied down the runway. It felt extremely out of place with the early 20th-century village in the background. A Few minutes later Scotts F-15E started moving down the runway. He took off along with the rest of his squadron. 20 minutes later It wasnt that long before they got to their designated target. They were performing the first strike of Operation Vengeance Hammer. Targets are within range. Firing. AGM-65 Mavericks were dropped from the hardpoints on his F-15. On the ground a few miles away Lieutenant Colonel! We got reports of enemy aircraft being detected by our madars. Keep an eye in the sky and open fire immediately if any enemy aircraft draws near. He started to scan the skies for any Human aircraft. Suddenly an explosion that rocked the ground cut off his scan. Get to cover! Artillery fire! The lined-up AA emplacements were blown up in succession. Theyre targeting the AA arcannons! Call headquarters and tell them that we suspect enemy artillery nearby. Something overhead zoomed by loudly. Suddenly more explosions occurred. In the sky Bombs away! Yeehaw! GBUs dropped onto the AA guns below. Back on the ground A single elf was sitting down next to what seemed like a grey block. He held a phone that was connected to the grey block. The ground rumbled from the nearby explosions. <<>> The heavy machine gun company, their company, despite its name, had no machine guns but were equipped with anti-aircraft guns. In the air Oooohhhh! Good hits! Good hits, boys! Seems like we got a majority of their AA guns in this sector. RTB now. 20 minutes later Good job! Scott stepped down the ladders of his F-15 and jumped onto the dusty runway. The ground crew ran to refuel and rearm their aircraft. Seems like we are going for another sortie soon. We will be getting air cover from the F-16s this time. The elves got their planes up. A few hours later They have suffered no losses and have bombed a large portion of the enemy defenses. Using AMRAAMs, the F-16Cs were also able to quickly take out any elven aircraft in the vicinity. 0440 April 8th, 2020 CE 0520 Sun 8th, 196 AE The plains Jets could be heard zooming by overhead. Issac Miles looked tired on his seat in the Bradley. Are we there yet? Issacs team leader, Sergeant Andrew Bennett, sighed. For the last time, Private, no. We literally just took a break. We will know when we get the signal. For all their seeming ferociousness, these elves seem to know how to run better than how to fight. An hour earlier, they had come up to a deserted human village. Blood was splattered everywhere and buildings were razed to the ground. The elves seemed to have showed no mercy. While thinking about that, the distinct sound of the M1A2 Abrams firing its main gun could be heard. The squad leader, Staff Sergeant David Walker commented on the noise. Seems like we have come up to the first group of elven defenses. Human magipanzers are cresting the hill! The elves adjusted their anti-tank arcannon, an AP 75 (Anti-Panzer 75mm), towards the closest human magipanzer that was racing down the hill towards them. Fire! Their first shot missed and whizzed past the speeding magipanzers. The speed of the human magipanzers made aiming extremely difficult. A shot from the moving human magipanzer destroyed the AP 75 and the sandbags acting as cover. Captain Josh Roses Abrams flattened the remaining barbed wire and sandbags covering the road. With their anti-tank gun destroyed, the elves blocking the road had dispersed and ran from a hail of machine gunfire. Nearby town Lieutenant General Ara Belras subordinate knocked on the door of the house that she was occupying. Come in. The road blockade has been breached. The humans are coming. Get the men up. We will engage them in the plains. Ara got into her Knight with her crew. She then got onto her magiradio. All magipanzers to your positions. We will fight for every inch of territory. She had already received reports that the defenses outside of the city have been under heavy air attack and were mostly destroyed so she understood the value of defending this town. The towns occupied by the elves were their last bastions of defense. A good number of her magipanzers in her division have already been destroyed outside of the town. It had been noted, although a bit late, that the humans seemed to avoid bombing the towns. She had gathered almost all of her magipanzers in the town so it had become a bit crowded. A few minutes later Im seeing a lot of elf tanks ahead. Fire! The shot instantly took out one of the larger elf tanks. It punctured a hole in its front armor. The other Abrams followed up with shots. The elf tanks sat there while the Abrams continued to fire whilst moving. The elf tanks had to stop to shoot in order for their shots to be accurate. Their magipanzers had no stabilizers so if it wanted to hit something, firing on the move was not recommended. Shots from the Knights and Stallions hit a few of the Abrams but had little effect. The Abrams returned fire in accurate and rapid shots. An explosion rocked the bottom of Joshs Abrams Seems that we are on a minefield. A few minutes later The Abrams quickly overran another position that consisted of anti-tank guns and elves hiding behind sandbags. The Elven defenses that were hastily prepared outside of the town crumbled in front of the Abrams advance. Their anti-tank gun emplacements, trenches, mines, and tanks were swept aside. Less than 20 minutes later A single Knight sat on one of the roads into town. It fired towards the approaching Abrams. The shot hit directly on the heavily armored cheeks and ricocheted off. The Knight blew up after being shot and the approaching Abrams pushed it aside. The Bradleys and the rest of Abrams entered the town. Go! Go! Go! The back door of the Bradley opened. Issac jumped out with the rest of his squad. The Abrams had cleared a way for them into the town. Now it was up to them to clear the town itself. The Abrams will follow them as support. Just as they were checking the area outside of their Bradley, machine gunfire came from the windows of one of the houses on the side of the road. Private Fred Butler, the Grenadier of his squad, quickly fired a grenade from the grenade launcher attached under his gun into the window. It made a distinct pomp sound. The room exploded and black smoke came out of the window. Issac and his squad went into the house where the machine-gun fire originated from. When they opened the door, they were greeted with a large open space room that was the entire first floor. Clear! Move upstairs! They slowly walked up in a line. On the top floor of the house was a hallway with multiple doors. This house seemed to be a tavern. They quickly cleared the rooms one by one until they came to the last one at the right. The first soldier who entered immediately fired his gun. A single elf was crouching in there. The elf quickly went down before he even got to shoot his gun. 0644 April 8th, 2020 CE 0622 Sun 8th, 196 AE The plains far behind Simon Holayra approached a group of humans with his hands raised. He was on his last legs. He ran out of food and couldnt scavenge anything from the nearby towns since they were all burned down during his armys advance. The entire area seemed to be crawling with humans. They were definitely hunting him. He had made his way further and further south but there were no signs of the elven army. He wasnt sure what to do. The only options were either die of hunger or surrender to the humans. As he approached, the humans seemed to raise what seemed to be their guns at him. I surrender! Drop your gun! One of the humans shouted at him and pointed their gun towards his rifle that was slung on him. Simon immediately unclipped his sling and the rifle dropped onto the ground. The humans approached him and tied his hands. Seems like this is the sniper we were looking for. 0907 April 8th, 2020 CE 0745 Sun 8th, 196 AE In the ocean Seaman James Murray out across the ocean. Well, this was a waste of a trip. He blew the smoke from his cigarette out into the sky. His friend, Seaman Zach Stevens, replies to that. Shot down a lot of planes though. We will be coming back soon enough. When will that be? Another week or so. This time hopefully the brass loads up with more AMRAAMs. James threw the cigarette onto the ground and stepped on it. Chapter 47 – The Many Types of Battle RonTheBlackCat I may need to take a one-week hiatus since the end of the semester is coming up which means I have a lot of tests coming up. I will have to see. If I don''t post next week, then you know why. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/yJybwgtR970 The Cassion Song (Original US Army Song) "War is 90% information" - Napolean Bonaparte 0638 April 8th, 2020 CE 0704 Sun 8th, 196 AE Industropolis, US headquarters in the Magus Imperium A human stared hostilely at him with narrowed eyes. What clothes do you usually wear? The question and the way he was asking it felt extremely unfitting. Another human entered. Tom, I dont think this is gonna work. But I was about Just let me do it. Grab yourself some lunch. It''s already an hour past noon. The human got up and left the room. The new human took his place. Sorry about that, hes trained in a different way. Now is there anything we can get you? Drink? Food? He had just gotten some food from the humans earlier so there was no need. He found the human food strange. Some kind of meat placed between two extremely soft bread. It tasted good even better than what he ate at home. Just some water please. The human turned towards the human guard that was standing by the door. Can you get him a bottled water? The human guard quickly left. The human smiled. I guess it''s time for introductions. Nice to meet you, Im Warrant Officer Tucker Stevens of the US Army ...Private Ailmar Zylberos of the National Army Tucker started flipping through a bunch of paper. I have a few questions for you. Im not sure if you know or not but my country comes from a different world. Ailmar looked confused. We are interested in your culture. As a nation from a different world, we are seeking to understand the cultures of other nations in the world. I hope you are willing to cooperate and answer our questions. Ailmar was confused by these humans. They were strangely hospitable. When he was captured, he had expected them to torture him. Not only did they not torture him, but they also treated the burn wounds that he had gotten in the battle in the jungle. Now he was in a strange square room with a weird dark shaded glass on one side. He thought that this was where they would torture him but it was just questions. Now, they werent even asking for any military-related information. Ummm sure. How good of an artist are you? Average. Tucker handed him a piece of paper and a pencil. Can you draw what you usually wear as a civilian? The human guard then entered and placed a strange clear container in front of Ailamr. He looked at it with apprehension. Oh, that''s just a bottle of water. You unscrew the top and you can drink from it. Anyways, once you finish drawing, I will have some more questions for you. The questioning went on for much more than an hour. It ranged from customs to food and even to daily life. Well that''s all Mr.Zylberos. I would like to thank you for your cooperation. Have a nice day. A few minutes later, Ailmar was led out by the human guard. Behind the window This one seems the most cooperative. I guess not all elves are anti-human extremists. They are a couple that are not that brainwashed. However, they are still fiercely loyal to their country. Should we try to ask him for any military information? The information hes given to us is already extremely useful. As the saying goes, a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. If we push him further, he might not be willing to give us any more information. He looked over the drawing of the elfs civilian clothes. It definitely seemed like something from the early 20th century. This is quite a good drawing. His drawing skills are definitely beyond average. We better send this to SOCOM. We also gotta send some of these elves to the CIA. They are getting a bit noisy about it Just send some of the uncooperative ones. Industropolis, Emperors Palace Emperor Arstant had just had a meeting with the American ambassador. Now he was conversing with Military Advisor Caius about the current situation. Military Advisor Caius had been looking very dejected recently. The advance of the Americans have far eclipsed our forces. Their mechanized units are much faster than ours. The elves have been so far easily defeated by the Americans. From our reports, elven tanks cant do damage to the American ones. In addition, their airpower has the ability to lay waste to huge elven armored formationsfrom our departments conclusion I guess they are this worlds superpower now. Emperor Arstant sighed. At least they are human and are willing to work with us. The Americans seem to also be willing to give us some of their older technology. However, they want us to supply them with some random fruit, vegetable, and plant products I suppose. I hope they dont make any unreasonable demands. So far they havent. Cat Kingdom, United Beastmen Kingdom Ok, so aim down the sights. Stable. Deep breath. Stay firm. Then pull the trigger. The AK in Rons hand jerked back from the recoil. I still cant get used to this backward movement. You will get it soon enough. With their size, the bigger cats had no problem with the recoil of the AKs. On the contrary, Rons small frame was an issue. He couldnt handle the big swords that Division Commander Flametail used. His usual choice of weapons was a pair of knives. Strangely, he also sometimes used scissors. He seemed to love scissors. In addition, he had a weird interest in using the sharpened pencils that the Diamond Wolves had brought over. The other beastmen had been training dutifully with their supplied AKs. They will be shipping out about 4 days from now. Although it has only been 3 days since the Diamond Wolves arrived, they have been training every day. It was a good thing that the beastmen were already extremely well-disciplined and strong. They just needed to learn the basics of using the AKs and how to use them effectively. The elven advance into the Kingdom of Albea had started again so break time was over. However, the elves seemed to have diverted their forces. Their advances were much slower and they havent gained much ground. Out of all the divisions being sent, they, the Fifth Division, were the only ones trained to shoot guns. Through the course of their training, there had been some minor disagreements between the Diamond Wolves and the Fifth Division. Despite recommendations, the beastmen werent willing to give up their armor. 0720 April 8th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. They are selling what?! Ak-47s. Who authorized that? You did sir. President Hayes went silent for a few seconds. ... oh yeah I did I didnt authorize anything else did I? No. Good. Just warn them that they cant sell or give any heavier weapons to the UBK. No anti-tank, no anti-air, stuff like that. They themselves can use it in their battles but they have to bring their heavy weaponry back. I would have much preferred if they had given them M-1 Garands but I guess the AKs will give them a better chance. 0723 April 8th, 2020 CE 0841 Sun 8th, 196 AE Elven Defense Line Tank! Take cover! The fighting in the town had been fierce. The elves werent willing to give away a single street without fighting. Fuck! Kens down! An Abrams rolled down the street. It quickly dispatched the elven tank. Its machine guns then lit up the elven position further down the street. Private Issac kept his back on a wall. I fucking hate urban combat! Couldnt we have bombed this place to kingdom come. Issac peeked around the corner with his gun and started shooting. For all the technological advantages they had, urban combat was still hell. Sergeant Bennett yelled out. Move! Move! Move! Come on boys, we are positioning further up. The houses in the vicinity have been cleared. On the road beside Issac, the Abrams rumbled down. <<>> <<>> Captain John Rose sighed at Centurion 1-1s request. Issac crouched behind a sandbag next to Fred. We got another elven position up there. Where the fuck is our tank? Reckon you can take them out with your grenade launcher? I got no grenades left. Used them all up to clear out the machine guns in the houses. Wheres the rest of the squad? They are coming up well fuck it. Issac popped up from his crouched position and started shooting his M4A1 Carbine. Bullets whizzed by from the elven rifles. Fred followed along. Crouching back down, Issac saw someone run up to them. It was Specialist Noah Wallace, their squads automatic rifleman. He was carrying a M249 Light Machine Gun. The rest of the squad seemed to be peeking out towards them from behind a building. About time you got here. Rest of the squad is pinned behind that building. Damn elves know how to use their bolt action rifles well. Less talking. More shooting. Noah set up his M249 and started firing downrange. Fred and Issac popped up to provide further fire. Slowly, the elven position down the road crumbled. Their squads Bradley rolled up. Staff Sergeant Jacob James, squad leader of Issacs squad, ran up to it. He yelled at it Where the fuck is our tank support? The Bradley commander popped open his hatch and yelled back. Sorry, boys this is all you got. Centurion 1 is dealing with elven tanks that are trying to flank us. However BFV-1 should be coming up with the 2nd Squad. Deeper in the town Lieutenant General, the situation doesnt look too good. We are losing too many of our magipanzers. How long until the second wave gets here? Less than an hour. Prepare for a retreat. Less than an hour later <<>> Ara switched the radio to her own forces. <<>> Chapter 48 – Issues and More Issues RonTheBlackCat Finally, Hell Week (end of the school semester) is over. I''m still recovering from having so many tests to take. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0613 April 8th, 2020 CE 0606 Sun 8th, 196 AE Frontline <<>> Destroyed tanks littered the four-way intersection that was ahead. A medium tank and a couple of light tanks were still shooting at the four Abrams. They had taken out waves upon waves of tanks but it seemed endless. After dispatching the remaining elf tanks, only the sound of the burning elf tanks remained. They waited a few seconds. <<>> As they went forward, they stopped when they came upon another four Abrams. They were shooting down the road. <<>> After a few minutes, Centurion 1s shooting died down. <<>> Centurion 1 pulled out of their street. A few streets away Enemy tank! An elven medium tank appeared on the road. A TOW missile flew out of the box that was attached on the left side of the Bradleys turret. It impacted the elven tank. Another elven medium tank appeared. It came to a stop and its turret started traversing toward the Bradley. The Bradleys 25mm M242 Chain Gun opened up. Loaded with the M919 APFSDS-T, it easily knocked the elven tank out with a few hits. A few minutes later Seems like theyre running. Issac peeked around the corner of a building. A few elves were covering the rest of the elves retreat. Their Bradley laid down lead on the elves. Suddenly, a massive explosion hit the poor elves'' positions. Well, now they fucking show up. After the sounds of battle died down, Staff Sergeant James ran up to the forwardmost Abrams. Where the fuck were you guys when we needed you. The person who had his upper body out of the hatch on top of the Abrams yelled down. We had to deal with a horde of elf tanks, mind you. If we didnt, you guys would have been cut off and overrun in no time. Captain John Rose listened to the reports from his subordinates. The elves are retreating on all fronts in the town. Good work. Secure the rest of the town. Less than 30 minutes later Elven counterattack! Shit! Theyre back already?! Didnt they just run away? They got fresh troops, it seems. Fucking hell. Who we fighting? The goddamn Soviet Union? Seems like it son. Seems like it. Wheres our goddamn air support? The Navy should have gotten to their positions about an hour ago. They skedaddled. Whaddya mean Sarge? Elves had too large of a fleet to deal with. 0630 April 8th, 2020 CE 0615 Sun 8th, 196 AE Ocean many miles south of the Magus Imperium 5 Virginia-class and 2 Los Angeles-class submarines of Submarine Squadron 1 were quietly moving deep in the sea. Seems like the entire elf fleet ran with their tail behind their back all the way to their home. The speed of the Virginia-class and Los Angeles-class submarines were much slower than surface ships when submerged so they had trailed behind the main fleet. Now that the main fleet turned back, they continued. Our goal is to sink as many of their ships as we can. The focus is on their aircraft carriers though. It shouldnt be long before they come back. In the meantime, we can blow up a couple of their transport ships to get them out. Lets get them then! We still have to be cautious. We are expecting their submarine fleet to number in the hundreds. Even with our stealth, if we accidentally run into their patrol net, theres going to be a fight. Couldnt we have deployed the entire submarine fleet to deal with them? Even if we did, the ocean is huge. We have only around 50 attack submarines. We are gonna expect some casualties if we tried to deal with the elves head-on. I tell ya, one Los Angeles-class submarine is worth a few hundred of the elfs submarines. We have the technological edge. There is absolutely no way that the elves can sink one. Dont be too overconfident. When something goes wrong, we are going to lose one. Trust me, something always goes wrong. It would look shit in the press when it does. Think about it. World War Two submarine sinks Americas modern submarine. Someones gonna get sacked if that happens. 0657 April 8th, 2020 CE 0629 Sun 8th, 196 AE Frontline The Centurion 1-3s main gun went off. It took out the Elven Tiger tank that was approaching. A flood of elven infantry and tanks were coming towards the town. <<>> Ocean many miles south of the Magus Imperium Submarine Squadron 1 continued to silently swim through the water of the ocean. There were four groups of elf submarines nearby. We are passing right under one of the submarine squadrons. Cant we just shoot them out the ocean? When we are on the route back. I already dont have a good feeling about this. Once we sink a few of their large ships, their gonna have their entire submarine fleet looking for us. Eh, we can swim under them. Hopefully they dont have any weird magic shit that lets them detect us. Well, seeing that we are currently under one, Im betting they dont. 30 minutes later Frontline The lines held against the elven counterattack. The Magusians fought bravely and with support from a couple of Abrams, their areas held. We are stopping our advance and holding this area. There are millions of elves and thousands of their tanks swarming a few miles from us. It will be a death trap if we charge in. Reinforcements will be arriving soon. 1322 April 8th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. Ok, so the deal with the Magusians went through. We will be giving them the blueprints for M4 Shermans and P-51 Mustangs. They will be supplying us with most of the products that we are not able to produce domestically or get from the Northern Frontier. Secretary of State Katerina Clifford still remembers the meeting she had with Emperor Arstant. The footage for the Shermans and Mustangs were perfect since they were shown defeating weapons that were similar to the ones that the elves had. That sounds perfect. Now Mr. President, onto the issue of democratization that you wanted to talk about. Yes. Im not seeing any progress with the Bem Kingdom and Mach Imperium. Can you explain that? Were in a completely new world and from what we know, no country in this world has tried any form of democratic government. We dont know if the people will even accept a democracy. We dont want something like the Middle East happening again here. From my plan, we are going ahead with a different approach to democratization. We gave the Iraqis freedom too quickly. It didnt take long for it to go to shit. This time Im suggesting we take it slowly and dont force it on them. Yeah, but the problem in the Middle East was because there were religious differences there. Look, Mr. President, we arent going to come into this world and flip everything upside down. We arent exactly crusaders for democracy. We know even less about the people of this world than we do about the Iraqis. And look how well we did with our efforts to promote democracy in Iraq. 16 years and trillions of dollars yet we still face seemingly never-ending insurgencies. I understand that but some from the press have started to question the lack of democratization. Mr. President, we made deals with authoritarian governments on a daily basis when we were on Earth. We even have a history of propping up and supporting authoritarian governments that were beneficial to us.The media didnt care when we made deals with the Saudis. You should know well that people complain more about our wars against terror in the Middle East than they do about our deals with dictators. Then what should we tell the press then? We will tell the press we are taking steps. This is completely true. We are improving the infrastructure and technology in the countries we have occupied. In addition, we will emphasize that we are being extra careful not to repeat the mistakes that we made in the Middle East. 4 days later Naval Station Norfolk James leaned on the fence. Directly behind him was the ocean. We just returned to restock our missiles. I heard what happened. How did the elves beat you guys back. They got crafty. He was talking to Seaman Jay Duncan. They had been best friends since high school. Both of them had joined the Navy at about the same time. Seems like my ship will be going with you guys for this. Arent we already stretched extremely thin? I dont think there''s anything for us to worry about, the only enemies we have now are these elves. Whilst talking, James stared back into the ocean at a white-colored ship. It was a Legend-class cutter (also known as the National Security Cutter), one of the largest active patrol cutters in the US Coast Guard. Even though it was a Coast Guard ship, it seemed like something that the Navy would have. Say, why is the Coast Guard here? I think there was an incident of some sorts with a fishing ship. They probably caught too big of a fish or something. James chuckled. Dont laugh at that. Im not kidding. There are some unique fish here. Its a world of magic, I wont be surprised if a kraken actually exists. That big of a ship for a small fishing incident? No, I think it was a factory ship. Ya know, those huge ass ships used for fishing. We are using more of them because of the fact we cant import such large amounts of fish like we did on Earth. Must be a serious incident if they called out that big of a Coast Guard ship. I think I heard that it went down. They are going on search and rescue. Hm. Chapter 49 – Democratization and McDonald’s RonTheBlackCat Halfway done with the next chapter, I may do a double release this week. An additional chapter on Wednesday or something. It''s Christmas boys! Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 McDonald''s - a vital part of America''s soft power 1032 April 9th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. The Committee on the Occupied Countries (COC). In order to not repeat the mistakes of the Middle East, a temporary committee had been set up by the President to plan what to do with the Bem Kingdom and Mach Imperium. Democratization was a very important and heavily discussed topic in most of the committees past meetings. A few months ago, they had planned for a thorough study of the occupied countries. Secretary of State Katerina Clifford was starting the meeting. I have talked with the President and received the reports from the researchers that we have sent. So far, our modernization campaign has gone without any major issues. During their first meeting, which was many months back, they had discussed how to fix the infrastructure that had been destroyed during the war. It had been decided that in addition to repairing the infrastructure, it had been decided to modernize and upgrade them. That job had been delegated to multiple American companies which were to be paid using money from the treasuries of the Bem and Mach. Countless meetings happened afterward to discuss the politics, the entrance of other US companies, trade, and democratization. Democratization was an issue that had spanned multiple meetings. The people in the room nodded. The committee of advisors, political scientists, military leaders, and a few other government officials were all sitting and looking at her. Katerina continued. From our interactions with and surveys of the people of the Bem Kingdom, they are generally supportive of becoming a republic. And from our investigations, there are no worries of any ethnic, cultural, or national differences. The nobles are of course hostile to this idea however they are few of them and from our understanding, lack any significant popular support. Katerina paused to see if her colleagues of the committee had any opinions. Colonel Jackson Ollie started first. Should we make plans to arrest the nobles? We will strip them of their titles. Arresting them seems to be going a bit overboard. They havent done anything wrong so we cant charge them for any crimes. Jackson leaned back. A political scientist on the committee went next. We had been discussing plans for a referendum. Will we be going ahead with that? Katerina nodded. I have decided that we can skip the referendum. The political scientist started arguing back. I still believe we should go ahead with the referendum. Give the people a feeling of what it is like to vote. We dont want it to be a mess when they start the vote for their leader. We are concerned that the nobles will get in the way of the referendum. They may try to use their wealth and influence to change the vote. Then it will be no better than the country still being controlled by the nobles. Then get rid of them before the referendum. The purpose of the referendum is to see the will of the people in order to get permission to change the system. Changing the system before the referendum even starts doesnt make sense. We are the governing power now, we can do whatever we want. Katerina looked a bit bewildered at the shocking statement. One of the advisors interrupted their see-saw conversation. He has a point there. We dont have to turn the country into a democracy to get rid of their nobles. The current king that we placed on the throne can do that. Just make him get rid of all the nobles. See, no change to the system. The others in the room who had watched them as they went back and forth all nodded at that. Katerina rubbed her chin. Hm. Ok, we will prepare a referendum. I will pass on to the President the suggestion of stripping the nobles of their titles and the lands related to said titles before we begin the referendum. We will also have to confiscate a majority of their wealth. Agreed? No one in the room showed any complaints or disagreements. Onto the next thing. The Mach Imperium on the other hand is problematic. Because of their size, we are unable to conduct a thorough survey. However, from what we have gained so far, there seems to be 50% support for a republic. However, we will have to redraw borders. Katerina clicked on the remote she grabbed off the table. A map shows up on the TV. The colored map of the Mach Imperium seemed like the end result of a toddler getting their hands on many different color paint cans. There are cultural differences. We will have to split this country up. The Emperors held their country together through the use of nationalism and the end of a gun. In addition to this, we have hundreds of nobles that are extremely hostile to the idea of a republic. Moreover, from our calculations, they are capable of raising an army of rebels totaling about 500,000 to 1,000,000. Possibly even more. Cant we apply what we did to the nobles in the Bem Kingdom to the Mach Imperium? Katerina shook her head. There are too many. Unlike the Bem, some of them even have popular support and a large backing. I still say that we should force democratization. It is our duty. We always establish democracies in our occupied countries. They are an empire, right? Cant we do what we did with the Japanese? That wont work. Japan had things that we could take advantage of. Namely the fact that they saw their Emperor as a god. If we had gone ahead with your past suggestion of making the Mach Imperium a democracy the moment we were able to, the Mach Imperium would have made the Middle East seem like the room of a person with OCD. So what do we do now? You cant just let them stay a monarchy. Jackson interrupted. Technically we could force democratization, we have the technological edge and our military analysts predict that we may be able to win within a few months not accounting for them using modern guerilla tactics or any other factions that may rise up. A few of the people in the room snickered at his suggestion. Katerina sighed. We have a history of propping up more authoritarian governments than democracies. Sure we have changed our stance, but that doesnt mean we have to make every single country a democracy. We can leave some be. The room devolved into multiple arguments afterward. Some supported the idea of finding a way to democratize the Magus Imperium. Others were fine with the way it is as long as it meant that the US wont be dragged into an endless anti-insurgency war. Katerina sighed. In a few minutes, she packed up her things and left after things got nowhere. 0622 April 9th, 2020 CE 0611 Sun 9th, 196 AE Aginport, Bem Kingdom Wybert Holden stood outside of the building. It looked extremely alien when compared to its surroundings. The Americans had changed Bem a lot. The most obvious was the street lights and the paved roads. Originally, there were also American soldiers everywhere with their weird vehicles but they were mostly gone now. Occasionally, there would be massive US military planes in the sky coming from the nearby airport the Americans had constructed. This building was also something that came from the Americans. He could see inside because of the glass that surrounded the bottom of the building. There were a lot of people inside. A few feet away by his side was a giant tower with a yellow M on top. He hesitated at the door. His friends had suggested it but it felt so foreign. He rarely went out to eat. A good place was always extremely expensive. The cheaper ones served mediocre food. It was better and cheaper to eat at home. He still wanted to try it though. His friends had come back with a strange wonderment to their eyes. He opened the door and walked in. It looked nothing like the taverns. The floor seemed to be made of some sort of marble. Instead of the color of brown wood that he was so used to, everything was a clean white. Even the tables and chairs werent wood. It seemed like a place that only the rich could afford to eat at. He waited in line and before long, walked up to the counter. He stared around in confusion. The worker who was standing behind a weird box spoke up. Welcome to McDonald''s. First time? Yes. So uh how does this work? The worker pointed upwards towards a wall of lists behind him. Some of the screens were changing. He would have probably called it witchcraft if the Magus didnt have something similar. There were a few screens that stayed static and had words and pictures. You can select your order from the options listed above. Pay the price indicated, we will give you the receipt, you can go find a table, and when we call the number on the receipt, you can come up to pick it up and bring it back to your seat. The options looked surprisingly cheap when compared to the aesthetics of the building. It was half the price of a full meal at a cheap tavern. 10 burls for a Ummm ok whats a Big Mac? Its a burger. Sauce, vegetables, and a slice of meat in between two soft pieces of bread. A Big Mac is a larger one. Its basically two burgers on top of one another. It seemed interesting and hopefully it was worth the price. I will get that. Anything else? He continued looking. What''s this Coca-Cola? A very sweet drink, also bubbly. Sure I will take that too ummm medium? It was only about 2 burls. Ok. Actually, are you interested in a Big Mac Meal instead? Whats that? For only 12 burls, you get a Big Mac, a medium Coca-Cola, and a medium box of French fries. French fries are sliced, fried, and salted potatoes. They are a common side to a burger. Um, sure. He paid the price, found a seat, sat down, and waited. He still felt hesitant. It just felt too cheap. It wasnt long before his number was called. It now felt too fast. Wybert hoped they didnt undercook it. He didnt want to deal with a stomachache. He walked up to grab the tray. A different worker was there and handed him multiple small packets. These packets are called ketchup, you can open them and squeeze them on the French fries. He carefully carried his tray back to his table. A delicious aroma rose up from the Big Mac box. Wybert walked out of the store with a heavenly satisfied look on his face. The Big Mac felt unexplainably good. Wybert corrected himself. The entire meal was heavenly. And at that cheap of a price too. The materials that packed the food also seemed to be high in value. He took the bag of empty containers along with him. McDonalds was one of the first few companies allowed to begin operations in the Bem Kingdom. As a test, they were only allowed one restaurant in the Bem Kingdom. Naturally, it was placed in the capital. McDonalds themselves decided to change some things to the way this McDonalds operated. They took out the self-serve soda fountains and also linked the building to an electric generator since the infrastructure of the Bem Kingdom was spotty. The business was now booming. Luckily, it didnt stifle all the restaurants around it. That was a condition from the US government in order to protect small businesses in the Bem Kingdom. If that single McDonald''s caused all restaurants around it to close, then that would have caused major damage to the Bem economy. Chapter 50 – Artillery is King RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Merry early Christmas Eve! (For those in my time zone) Merry Christmas Eve! (For those a day ahead) "Artillery is the King of the Battlefield. Infantry is the Queen of the Battlefield. And it is well known what the King does to the Queen." - I forgot where this was from but I really liked it. hmmm... i think i have run out of songs...well... 0222 April 9th, 2020 CE 0411 Sun 9th, 196 AE Mach Imperium A Humvee, the term that the Americans used for their military car, slowly drove down the road. An American soldier was up on the gun and scanning around. Mettius watched it go by. American patrols were a common sight nowadays to ensure public safety. He had heard that the Americans had restricted any American companies from establishing here out of concern. He didnt really understand what the concern was for. He knew that there were people who were unhappy with the fact that their country was defeated, but he also knew they werent insane enough to attack the victors. For as long as he could remember, the country had always been quite peaceful. 0001 April 9th, 2020 CE 0300 Sun 9th, 196 AE American frontline The sun was slowly coming up. After the elves failed counterattack yesterday afternoon, no further action was seen. They seemed to really hate night fighting. A whistling sound filled the air. Issac and a few other soldiers glanced around in confusion. One of the experienced soldiers had a face that seemed like he knew what was going to happen next. Ah fuck. Artillery! They dived to the ground as the ground shook like a 5.0 magnitude earthquake. A few seconds later, the ground shook again. A few miles behind the Elven frontline The booms of the elven 15cm cannons did not stop. They lined the plains of nearly the entire front. Their goal was to hammer the frontlines to soften it so advancing forces could easily take it. They had prepared enough ammunition for an hour-long session of firing. Once the shelling stopped, elven infantry and tanks would start advancing. More than 10 miles back of the American frontline Coordinates were yelled out. The wheels on the sides of the gun were spun quickly in order to adjust to said coordinates. Lets go! Load! An artilleryman placed a shell onto the ammunition table. Go! Go! The shell was loaded into the cradle with the touch of a button. Another soldier smashed a long metal stick to push the shell into the cannon. A propellant was placed under and the hatch was closed. Clear! Fire! The string was pulled. The loud boom of the M777 howitzer echoed. The hatch was opened and the interior was quickly cleaned. Load! The earlier process started to repeat itself. An M777 next to them fired. Clear! Another M777 close by fired. Fire! A few miles behind the Elven frontline An explosion occurred a few yards behind the elves artillery position. Another one landed right on top of one of the cannons in the line. A secondary explosion occurred as the ammunition besides the destroyed artillery cooked off. It wasnt long before the elven artillery fell silent. A few deaths were sustained from the concentrated amount of Elven artillery fire but there had been no significant damage. It only took multiple well-placed shots for the elven artillery position to be completely wiped out. Elven command post Where are their observers?! Our artillery units are many miles from the front. We have not spotted any form of human recon. Then how do you explain the fact that they wiped out every firing artillery gun in the vicinity within a few minutes of us firing!? Colonel General Eroan Faexalim, commander of the Second Wave Central Army, bit his fingers in frustration. Have our recon teams found any of the human ones? A couple were able to sneak through the less technologically advanced lines and discovered human artillery positions. A few minutes later A different US artillery position <<>> The cords were quickly given over the radio. Got new cords! He read off the cords to the ones adjusting the M777s. The wheels on the sides of the cannons started to spin. Before long the M777s started firing again. Elven command post Sir, our artillery was wiped out by counter-battery fire again! He threw his pencil on the ground. Begin the assault! American frontline <<>> The M3A3 Bradley CFV (Cavalry Fighting Vehicle) started to retreat from its position after spotting a swarm of elven tanks and infantry coming across the field. Smoke popped out from their M257 grenade launchers installed on the turret. The white smoke covered their retreat. The M3 Bradleys were specifically designed for reconnaissance but had combat capabilities, however, it was not looking for a fight. The elves seemed to be doing concentrated attacks on the entire frontline. Instead of being spread out for their offensive, they seem to hope to achieve breakthroughs and exploit said breakthroughs in order to encircle the humans. 25 miles behind the American frontline After receiving the message, boxes on the back of what seemed to be trucks turned right and started to lift towards the sky. Suddenly fire started blasting out of all the boxes. A battery of M270 MLRSs (Multiple Launch Rocket Systems) lined the field. The sound of their rockets drowned out everything. Battlefield The magipanzers that were charging through the plains suddenly found themselves in a literal hail of metal. There were 9 M270 MLRS in a battery. Each individual M270 had 12 GMLRS-AW (Guided MLRS-Alternative Warhead) warheads. The GMLRS-AW was a 200-pound fragmenting warhead that consisted of approximately 160,000 preformed tungsten fragments. That meant a total of 17,280,000 tungsten fragments were hitting the advancing elven units. Elven infantry was ripped to shreds. The top armor of the Fortress magipanzers were only 25mm thick and were easily penetrated by the storm of fragments. The other more lightly armored magipanzers had large chunks blown off them. Entire sectors were laid to waste. Artillery and rocket artillery was making up for the lack of air support. With the MLRSs, the US and Magus could once again prepare to mount an offensive after softening the enemy defenses. The lack of modern airfields was a massive headache for command. In the old world, they would just need to repossess enemy airfields and quickly fix them up so they were usable. Better yet, there were US and allied air bases spread around the world that they just needed to land in. Now, they had to modernize the Magusian airbases in order to make sure the US aircraft wont be damaged. They had to make sure that the landing gears of their jets wont break off when they land on the Magusian airfields. The feet of wyverns were much more sturdy than the landing gear on an F-15 or F-16. That meant that there were multiple holes and large bumps on the runways of the Magusian airfields which required engineers to smooth and pave out. It was questionable why the Magus even needed airfields. The wyverns could land basically anywhere. Being transported to a world where all the countries had inferior technology was both a wet dream and a nightmare. It was a wet dream in the fact that the term peer adversary became nonexistent. On the other hand, it was a logistical nightmare. In the old world, there were US military bases and weapon stockpiles on almost every single continent. This allowed the US to be prepared for conflicts across the world. Now all those military bases and stockpiles had all been thrown into the New Frontier. With seemingly back to back wars, the US was having a hard time transporting and supplying units across the ocean. However, a good side to this was a massive decrease in the cost of operation and maintenance. In the past, nearly half of the US military budget was spent on operation and maintenance. Now that had significantly decreased because of the closing and relocation of multiple military bases in the New Frontier. The budget was finally focusing on research, development, and procurement. 18 US Army brigade combat teams, equivalent to about 6 US Army divisions, were covering the entire front that stretched the southern length of the Magus Imperium. There were a total of 10 divisions in the US Army. They were made up of 31 brigade combat teams. Of the 31 brigade combat teams, only 23 were at a high level of readiness. Because of how long the front was, a lot of it had to be plugged in with Magusian units. Compared to the US Army, the Magus had more than 100 army divisions. To make up for their technological inferiority, 5 Magusian divisions were placed on stretches of land that were similar in length to what a single US Brigade Combat Team was currently protecting. There were also a total of 8 US Army National Guard divisions which consisted of 27 brigade combat teams. Of those 27, only 4 to 5 were at a high level of readiness. 1 of them was doing peacekeeping operations in the Bem Kingdom and 2 of them were in the Mach Imperium. Another 2 Army brigade combat teams were in the Mach Imperium. 0216 April 9th, 2020 CE 0432 Sun 9th, 196 AE American frontline Captain John Rose listened to the orders on his radio. No damage for his company was reported from the artillery bombardment that they had just faced. Now the entire 2nd Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment was preparing for a counteroffensive along with the rest of the US and Magus Army. The elves offensive had completely failed. Through the use of sheer numbers, even the weak points that were protected by only Magusians had repelled the elves The two six-rocket pods of the M270 were quickly detached from it. Two fresh pods replaced it. The other M270s in the battery were also reloaded. A soldier in one of the M270s stared at a paper map. On it, targets were drawn with a red pen. Large concentrations of enemy infantry and tanks. Various types of positions. A few were marked specifically for his crews M270. The rockets started once more and the ground shook. More than 20 miles in front of them, M777s started firing too. Private Issac was preparing to get onto his squads main Bradley. His team leader, Sergeant Andrew Bennett, made a satisfied sigh as the ground shook. We may not have our air support but we damn well have our artillery. I hope those elves enjoy the king of the battlefield. Far behind the Elven frontline What is happening out there? Ara said to herself as she heard seemingly endless explosions at the front. Her battered division was now resting in the plains. They had been pulled far back and were replaced with a magipanzer division from the Second Wave units. For probably the first time in her life, she wasnt looking for a fight. Chapter 51 – Blunderwaffe RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 So 2020 decided to give me one last middle finger. Someone decided it was a good idea to bomb the AT&T (My internet provider) building in Nashville on Christmas morning (google Nashville Christmas Bombing if you wanna learn more). I had no internet for three days which completely ruined my plans since they were the days that I wanted to write a lot. I tried to make a double chapter release today but sadly that wasn''t possible. My mother hasn''t been feeling well that recently. https://youtu.be/CHwKUClcVig Sabaton Wehrmacht 0219 April 9th, 2020 CE 0409 Sun 9th, 196 AE Somewhere in the Magus Imperium Ok, move along! Keep walking! Simon was in a line with a few other elves. The humans havent been treating him too badly. After being captured, he had been put into some sort of truck along with another group of elven soldiers. The elven soldiers were infantry who got left behind during the retreat to the position that they were supposed to regroup. He could probably be counted among them since he was in a similar situation even though he was a lone sniper. They were in a city and there were quite a few human spectators watching them like zoo animals. He didnt look too much different than them other than the ears. The humans seemed to have transported them somewhere deeper in human territory. The place that he was entering seemed to be a large prison for all the elf POWs. Magusian airfield modernized by the US Two US Army military intelligence agents watched as soldiers dragged the elves into the plane. One of the agents looked at the other who was his superior. Why are we sending these elves to the US? CIA. What about the CIA? Being the annoying bastards they are. They didnt want to do interrogations here because of the lack of infrastructure. Lack of infrastructure? They cant do their quote on quote fancy stuff here. Well, I hope they like the trip. His superior started laughing. The elves were blindfolded and gagged. Their hands were tied tightly with a piece of cloth to prevent them from using any funny magic. Whenever the elves were captured, some of them always tried to use magic to resist. Of course, the end result was them getting shot to pieces. That usually ended almost all forms of resistance but there were rare cases of idiots trying to commit suicide by armed US soldiers since they were too stubborn to surrender. The elves that were being sent away were the most uncooperative so military intelligence didnt mind handing them over to the CIA. 0232 April 9th, 2020 CE 0416 Sun 9th, 196 AE Elven Frontline The surviving elven infantry and magipanzers started to flee in fear as they saw what happened to their brethren closer to the front. Even more fearsome than the direct explosions of the human artillery were the unexplainable shrapnel explosions. An explosion would occur in the air and the infantry and magipanzers below would all be mercilessly cut down by a rain of metal. A few minutes later American Frontline With his company was in a line formation, Captain John Roses Abrams burst out of town, spearheading the entire battalions counteroffensive. Behind them, Issac was back in his squads Bradley. Oh boy, here we go again. Issac was clearly unhappy about the fact that he had to sit in a cramped and dim compartment for another hour or so without AC. The enemy resistance seemed to have instantly melted from the concentrated artillery fire. On their way towards the elven concentrated positions or what used to be their concentrated positions, elven tanks filled with holes and flesh littered the field. When they had arrived, the only things that remained of the elven positions were burning wrecks and dead bodies. Even further forward were the obliterated remains of the elven artillery. Issac walked out of his squads Bradley. They had been ordered to check for any survivors. Well, the artillery cleared the way. Doubt anybody can even survive this. Guess we dont have to do anything. 0245 April 9th, 2020 CE 0422 Sun 9th, 196 AE Elven Command Post Colonel General Eroan Faexalim contemplated what to do next. The humans had completely destroyed his offensive and battered his defenses. The human artillery was deadly. Not only had they demolished a large portion of his artillery, but the human rocket artillery also saturated his offensive units. According to the reports, it was horrifying. Something that could only be described as a rain of steel that cut down everything and anything. Those that were in its area of effect didnt even know what had hit them. He stared at the map and looked at a small wooden block that was off to the side. He still had an ace up his sleeve. Get the special magipanzer battalion. We will attack them before they can move up their artillery. Behind the Elven frontline Ara looked at the magipanzers that rumbled by. They were much bigger than her Knight. So these are the new magipanzers. One of her crew members was leaning against the Knight. Yep, how effective do you think they will be, commander? Ara stayed silent. <<>> After his command, Major Hagluin Norhicess 45 Fortress IIs spread out across the field in two wedges. Behind them, medium and light magipanzers followed. Further behind were the infantry. American/Magus Frontline Unlike the Americans who had armored vehicles, the Magus lacked the speed or protection. They were extremely exposed in the plains. There was no cover to be seen anywhere. They had just arrived at their designated positions and had barely any time to set up defenses before they were attacked. Where are our magitanks?! Explosions occurred around the soldier. He ducked onto the ground with his hands on his helmet. Machine guns from the approaching elven magitanks gunned down a couple of the still-standing Magusians. <<>> John looked at his map. There were markings that indicate where each of the Magusian division was. Quickly finding the 27th, he replied. <<>> He got his armored company together. <<>> After a short journey in column formation, they found their target. Elf tanks up ahead, let them rip! The elves were assaulting and clearly pushing back the Magusians. Johns Abrams destroyed the Knight closest to their position. Shots from his company followed. They quickly spread out and changed into a line formation in order to maximize firepower. The elves wedge formation had been flanked. In his Fortress II, Major Norhices noticed this and started to redirect his battalion. He understood that the enemy magipanzers were much more dangerous than the squashable infantry in front of him. The Fortress IIs started turning to face the Americans. A shot from a turning Fortress II bounced off of Johns Abrams. The shot was returned in kind. The sabot round went straight into the Fortress II from the front and it stopped moving. Underofficer Farans magipanzer was taken out. His magipanzer stopped moving after being hit. In the name of the goddess Major Norhice couldnt believe it. Their new magiapanzers were worthless against the American ones. His superiors had told him that the front armor of this new magipanzer was supposedly impenetrable by almost any gun in the elven arsenal. Yet the Americans destroyed it as if the armor didnt even exist. Pummel them! The Fortress IIs were not fast tanks because of their armor, they were meant to soak in damage while returning deadly fire. They were not suited for any flanking maneuvers on the battlefield when directly facing the enemy. The Fortress IIs were now failing at their jobs. They couldnt soak in any damage from the Abrams and their fire were turned into ricochets and explosions that seemed to do no damage. Other than receiving scratch marks and minor damages to a couple of exposed parts on their tanks, Johns company was completely fine. 14 M1A2 Abrams destroyed 45 Fortress IIs. The newest elven magipanzer which was proclaimed to be impenetrable from the front. Elven Command Post What!? WHAT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY WERE ALL DESTROYED! Um sir from the um survivors, the Americans showed up with their magipanzers and completely destroyed the 1st Special Heavy Magipanzer Battalion. Are you telling me that these Americans were able to destroy a magipanzer that had more than 60 mm of front armor than the Fortress!? The messenger cowered at his commanders shouting and anger. Um yes sir Then how about the casualties on the American side? The Fortress IIs were armed with a much better gun than the Fortress. At least tell me that they took out a few of theirs. Ummmmfrom the observers of the battle... none sir we did do damage against the Imperials though. None none!? He started laughing. He then reached for the pistol in his holster. A few seconds later, a shot rang out of the tent. Um sir The messenger stood bewildered at his commanders dead body. Silence filled the tent. Suddenly two guards rushed in. What happened? We heard a gunshot. The commanders dead! Uhhh... he shot himself. That was as clear as day since the messenger had no weapons on him. 0425 April 9th, 2020 CE 0512 Sun 9th, 196 AE Afavalin, Elven Nation The 1st Special Heavy Magipanzer Battalion was destroyed. Colonel General Faexalim also committed suicide. Tarron slammed his fist on the table in anger. He put his palm to his head and looked down. Im ordering a full retreat to the Verona. Tell them to destroy anything of value during their retreat. All units will set up defensive positions once they arrive on the other side of the Verona. Destroy all bridges and prevent the enemy from getting through. After further instructing his generals, he got his coat and left. Tarron entered Zeno Naeroras office in the Advancement Department. He really disliked visiting this place. The curtains were almost always closed unless it was raining. It was as if Zeno was allergic to the sun. He always acted extremely gloomy when he had to go out in the sun. How are those Hexenbesens coming along? Very good My Leader! We have started production and they will be capable of being fired upon the Empire very soon. How about the jets? Can we deploy them now? Ah, we are still doing some tests. Are those tests required? Well they are just making sure that Good, we will be shipping them out to the field. We need them right now. Hm. Well, I suppose I could rush the tests. 0907 April 9th, 2020 CE 0744 Sun 9th, 196 AE American Frontline Seems like the elves are giving ground. They had been on the road for a few hours and there had not been a single enemy soldier in sight. Whatever towns they came across were burning. Elf positions seemed to have been abandoned and destroyed in a hurry. 1433 April 9th, 2020 CE Adelphi Laboratory Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, United States of America Scientists studied the destroyed remains of the elven weaponry that had just recently arrived. These magic batteries could be very useful. Im going to need one that is less damaged to actually see how they work. From the information we received, the elves need to transition energy from themselves into the battery. And from our earlier tests, Americans cant use said magic because we are not native to this world. We are probably missing something that the humans of this world developed. Well, actually, an interesting thing that I overheard was that it is possible that humans evolved from elves or that elves evolved from humans. According to what was said, the elves'' physical appearance to humans are almost exactly the same other than their pointy ears. Hm. We will need to conduct further studies of their DNA about that. However, back to this, it''s highly possible that we can improve these batteries so that they can directly siphon mana from the air. This could be a new source of renewable energy! Chapter 52 – Full Retreat RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 2222 April 9th, 2020 CE 0211 Sun 10th, 196 AE Frontline The entire elven army was on the run. US Brigade Combat Teams made rapid advances throughout the night and reclaimed the Magusian lands that the elves ran from. The Magusian Army couldnt keep up with the speed of the American advance. It was clear that the elves were starting to use scorched earth tactics. Every single house, town, and city that the American forces came across had been mostly razed to the ground. The scorched earth tactics had no effect on the US forces. Of course, it caused a lot of anguish to the Magus. It was certain that the Magus wasnt going to like this one bit. 50 miles behind them, the airfields were nearly finished with their modifications. The runways had been smoothed out and cleared and all needed facilities to operate American aircraft had been set up. Air support had finally come back online. With the US army getting ever closer to the elven airbases, they had begun to be within the range of elven aircraft. Because of the dominance of American airpower in the old world, the US did not have a large arsenal of capable air defense systems. What they did have were shoulder-fired FIM-92 Stingers which were meant for short-range anti-air. There were also versions that were mounted on Humvees and LAV-25s. AN/TWQ-1 Avenger Air Defense Systems were basically Humvees with 8 Stingers attached and LAV-ADs were the same as the Avengers but were LAV-25s that also had a 25mm gun with anti-air capabilities. The other system was MIM-104 Patriots which had medium and long-range anti-air and anti-missile capabilities. A Patriot battalion which consisted of six batteries had been spread out and deployed miles behind the frontlines but were not expected to be used unless things got really problematic. A single Patriot missile was just too expensive to be wasted on a propeller aircraft. The sirens of multiple diving elven dive bombers could be heard. Although quite effective as a psychological weapon against the Magus, it didnt faze the US soldiers at all and was more of a detriment to the elves since it gave their position away. The Avengers quickly found their diving, screeching targets and fired. Sixteen missiles from two Avengers flew at Mach speeds toward their targets. When elven dive bombers start to dive down, they would quickly be within the range of the FIM-92 Stingers which could easily shoot them down before they could even drop their payload. Within only a few minutes after they were heard, the entire squadron of elven dive bombers had been shot out of the sky. Missiles reducing their aircraft to mere fireballs. Somewhere in the Elven Nation An elven officer in a sleek grey uniform sat comfortably in a chair behind a desk and stared at the human standing in front of him. The human was tall and had some muscle to him. The officer looked back down at the clipboard in his hand. In a crisp loud voice, he shouted. Laborer. Next! The elven officer flipped to the next page. A boy who was 14 years old according to the information provided on the sheet of paper on the clipboard stared at him with a face full of anxiousness. The elven officer cocked his eyes. Servant. Next! A young girl came up. Servant. Next! A young woman approached the table. The officer looked up at her face and then down at her assets. His eyes looked down on her file and wandered back up towards her assets. He stared at them for a few seconds. ...special work. Next! Unlike some of his colleagues, he was less inclined to say what special work was directly. This was one of the few camps that were organizing the captured humans. Laborers were mostly sent to factories. Servants and a few laborers were sold on the market to citizens by the government. The special works went to the brothels. Rather than killing all the humans, the elves believed that they had the compassion and mercy of letting some of them live to serve elves. They were basically slaves. 0220 April 10th, 2020 CE 0410 Sun 10th, 196 AE A sector of the Verona River The sun was starting to set. Move! Move! Get everything across the bridge as soon as possible! An engineer came running towards him from the bridge. Sir! Sir! The Lieutenant General turned to face him. Are the charges set? Yes, sir. The Lieutenant General nodded and glanced at his adjutant. How much more are coming across? This is the last division. Tell them to get a move on. We dont have time. The Lieutenant General then went to find his executive officer. The executive officer was in the midst of ordering his division. He called out to his executive officer. How are the defensive positions? Machine gun nests are being set up across the river line. Mortars are ready to assault anything that tries to come across. All units should be positioned. We have every type of gun trained on this river, they are not passing through. A few minutes later, explosions rocked the sides of the bridges. It all came crashing down into the river. One of the many bridges that led across the Verona was blown up. More were to follow. American HQ The elves have blown up every single bridge on the Verona River. They are setting up defenses on the bank. From the reconnaissance drones, I can see a whole array of machine-gun nests, anti-air emplacements, artillery positions, and a heck ton of ground units. They are adamant on not letting us through. Shouldnt be that hard of a nut to crack. Miles behind the American frontline Fire! M777s and M270s thundered in the plains. The crews of the M777s fired for hours on end. The M270s went back for constant reloads of their rocket launchers. Overhead, formations of F-15Es rocketed through the skies. Once they arrived at the river banks, they swooped in low to drop bombs onto the elven defenses on the shore. Whatever the elves had put into that river line was pounded for hours to oblivion. Nothing but blackened dirt and mangled metal remained. Detecting these aircraft, elves scrambled to get their fighters in the air but the end results of their air battles would never change. Every single time, their formations would be blown out of the skies by hundreds of missiles from F-16s. 0307 April 10th, 2020 CE 0445 Sun 10th, 196 AE A sector of the Verona River Numerous HEMTTs (Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks) came up right beside the river. The trucks that were carrying small tug-like boats backed up into the water. Bridge erection boats were deployed from the back of them. After the boats were deployed, a few other trucks backed up into the river. They were carrying a different cargo. Improved Ribbon Bridges slid off of them and into the river. The once big cylindrical tubes that were on the back of the trucks slowly came apart into a flat floating bridge on the river. Like tugs, the bridge erection boats started guiding the Improved Ribbon Bridges. They were soon all snapped together to form a large bridge that could cross the Verona. The first Abrams rolled onto the bridge. In the darkness, two elven scouts stared in amazement. The moonlight and the light from the American equipment gave a perfect view of what was happening. They are sliding bridges into the river! What?! They stared at the scene through their binoculars. They were hiding in one of the few remaining bushes left after the relentless bombardment. They watched as a human magipanzer started moving towards the quickly made bridge. Isnt that thing too heavy? A few seconds later, the human magipanzer moved onto the bridge and it held up. Even more human magipanzers followed and piled onto the bridge. ...no way One of the elves slapped his partner''s shoulder. We have to go. Their magipanzers are crossing. We have to get this information back. They are doing it much faster than we are expecting. 1205 April 10th, 2020 CE 0603 Sun 10th, 196 AE Cat Kingdom, United Beastmen Kingdom, Soane Continent Miller knocked on the door and entered Wasnt our supply of extra rations and equipment supposed to get here today? We havent received it yet. Wolfred looked up from his book. ...ah, forgot to tell you. The ship carrying that stuff over got sunk. We got a second one coming. We should have it by tomorrow. Cutting it close but theres nothing we can do. Huh? Sunk? By who? The Elven navy? No. According to the Coast Guard, it was attacked by some water creature. Large holes on the bottom of the ship or something. Hm. Scary. Wolfred shrugged. Not an isolated incident either. There had been reports here and there. Pretty sure people are calling whatever is attacking, The Kraken. Funny thing is, they arent even sure if its a massive squid. Heh. Is the government doing anything about it? From what I have heard, not much, too focused on fighting the elves as of right now. Guess there''s not enough damage to justify a dedicated response or something but the Coast Guard is investigating. Shouldnt be too surprising. Probably something similar to those giant birds in the New Frontier. Well. New world, new creatures. Look around us. Wolfred looked back down at his book. Somewhere in the Kingdom of Albea Swords clanged on the battlefield. Armor glinted from the sun. Dead bodies littered the ground. With his binoculars, an elf observed the battle from a cliff. He had a frown on his face. Damn beastmen. Should we prepare an armored assault now sir? He shook his head. Too many casualties. He knew how fearless the beastmen were. There had been multiple reports of them charging tanks and placing bombs on them. A lot of armored units had been disabled by that. Turns out quite a lot of the beastmen could take multiple hits from machine-gun fire and not go down. They were also masters at assassination and infiltration. An entire armored column had been mysteriously blown up one night. Originally the elven invasion force was split between 70% going to attack the Empire and 30% to the kingdoms. However, with the constant failures occurring at the Empire, resources and units were diverted. It was now split between 85% Empire and 15% kingdoms. With such few units, mounting a full offensive was just not possible anymore. Furthermore, with mounting losses from the beastmens infiltrations, the elves could only form a defensive position. However, they knew that with the human kingdom mobilized, it will only be a matter of time before it shifts in their favor. A human knight was battered aside by a bear beastmen who towered over all the humans. A cheetah beastmen raced across the battlefield and cut down the humans who couldnt react to his speed. 0822 April 10th, 2020 CE 0744 Sun 10th, 196 AE The ocean between the Magus Imperium and Elven Nation Another one sunk. The submarines had been constantly attacking elven ships that had been trying to cross the ocean towards the Magus Imperium. After destroying the last of the ships in that convoy. They quickly started moving away. Staying in one place was a death wish even with a modern submarine. It wont be long before elven destroyers and submarines started swarming the entire surrounding area dropping depth charges and randomly firing torpedoes. Chapter 53 – Unraveled Chain of Command RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the late chapter. I had art homework and I couldn''t figure out how to draw a lamp correctly. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 I might need to go on a short hiatus soon to stop and evaluate where this story is going. 0812 April 11th, 2020 CE 0706 Sun 11th, 196 AE Afvalin, Elven Nation Leaders Mansion We cant hold on much longer. Our ships are being disrupted by American submarines and American ground forces are crossing the Verona with ease using their deployable bridges. Tarron rapped his fingers on the desk. His face was unreadable but clearly heavy. Tarron knew that he had to act now. Former Admiral Edyrm Vaynore was standing in Tarrons office with surprise clear on his face. He was literally dragged out of his retirement and given a ridiculous task. He was much more talkative now that he was no longer an admiral. But My Leader! This is a suicide mission! Besides, I already quit! If this country is gone, then you are dead either way! We can still do some damage and maybe bring them to the negotiating table. I didnt even give you permission to quit. But I gave you my letter of resignation. Tarron shook his head. I denied it. You can do that? Then why was I allowed to leave in the first place? I gave you a vacation. I wasnt informed about this! Doesnt matter, you are still an admiral of the National Navy, the last time I checked. I can still order you around. You are going to take this fleet and do as much damage as possible. You have a day to prepare. American submarine activities have been increasing. The time frame is narrowing. ...why do you think I wont just defect once my fleet sails? If you do, you will either die by the hands of the naval officers loyal to me or die by the hands of those Americans. I can promise you that those Americans wont show mercy. Weve been slaughtering and enslaving their kind. 0845 April 11th, 2020 CE 0722 Sun 11th, 196 AE Elven Invasion Army of the Empire HQ Field Marshal Zaos Qintumal didnt know what to do at this point. The Americans now controlled the skies. Most of the elves aircraft have been destroyed before they could even take off. Those that could were all shot out of the skies like mere flies. American ground forces were also streaming in from everywhere. The Imperials were there too but they were of no concern to him. It has been only retreat upon retreat ever since the defense at the Verona failed. He cursed at the Americans. He understood that everything was going perfectly before they showed up and ruined it all. He paced around his tent. Then everything went black for him. A glint shone off of the camera on a Predator drone in the sky. It started turning left. Behind a computer screen, an American drone operator watched the explosion from his Predators hellfire missile. Elves below ran around in a panic. Target eliminated. That should be a part of their chain of command crippled. The Predator drone had been loitering around the elven camp for a while in order to identify the command center. From satellite observations, it had been noted to be a very large camp that had the high probability of being the enemy headquarters for the invasion force. Of course, they couldnt identify the specific area that was the command center so they needed a drone to check it out. In many other elven camps on Magusian territory, similar strikes by Predator drones were made. Afvalin, Elven Nation Leaders Mansion My Leader, the commander of the invasion force of the Empire has been killed. A small American hexenbesen struck and killed him. Tarron stood up and started pacing around. He was expressionless. He walked towards the door where the messenger was standing and grabbed his coat from the coat hanger. He walked out. The High Command Office was bustling with activity. Staff and officers ran around. To them, everything that could go wrong was going wrong. Orders were not being sent out and reports were not being received. The chain of command for the elven army in the Empire was a complete mess. Whats the current situation? Field Marshal Aegord Gael hesitated at Tarrons question for a moment before answering truthfully. ...disastrous, My Leader. All forces are currently retreating. Our chain of command in the Empire is gone. We dont have a clear picture of the Americans advance but they have crossed the Verona at terrifying speeds. Take me to the other generals, Im calling a meeting. Tarron looked around. What are your suggestions? Field Marshal Gael spoke up. It seemed like he already knew before the meeting what he wanted to say. We must retreat. I suggest that all forces in the Empire be brought back to our land as soon as possible All the other generals around him nodded. Almost the entire territory south of the Verona is still in our hands and you are telling me to allow a retreat all the way back home? My Leader. We havent won a single battle ever since the Americans came. If we put an ocean between our forces and theirs, it is possible that we can hold them off. If all our forces die in the Empire, then a large portion of our army will be gone. I do not believe the prospects are good for the survival of our nation if our army fights to the last man in enemy territory. Tarrons face darkened. That usually meant that he really wanted to throw something or shoot someone in anger. A heavy silence fell on the room for a minute. Tell all units to begin a retreat. We are evacuating from the Empire. The generals nodded again with relief on their faces. Tarron knew that the Empire did not exist anymore and the currency country that they were invading was called the Magus Imperium but most elves still preferred to call it the Empire. All their military plans for attacking the humans in the Imperitoria Continent had been written using the word Empire so changing it to the Magus Imperium and creating a separate plan for the Mach Imperium was unnecessary hassle. He then remembered something. What about the ones in the kingdoms? The situation in the Empire had been worsening so much recently that reports from the kingdom were being glanced over or just put aside. Tarron barely knew the exact status of the elven army invading the kingdoms. Because of our diversion of forces to support our army in the Empire, the advance in the kingdoms has considerably slowed. We have gained assistance from the human kingdom that we allied with and we are hoping that we can use their numbers to allow us to continue our advance. If the situation worsens over there, immediately inform me. Yes, My Leader! 1026 April 11th, 2020 CE 0813 Sun 11th, 196 AE Frontline Every single operation so far had been a failure. Offensives, counter-offensives, and defenses have all failed no matter what they tried. Now even her superior had gone silent. Every request for orders and questions have been met with nothing. For all Ara knew, they could have abandoned her and her division. She had been retreating with her beleaguered division and the rest of the second wave. They were burning almost every single thing they found in order to slow the Americans down and deny them resources. Every railroad was broken apart. Every house burned. Every road dug up. But it had no effect on the advancing American army. It was as if their supply lines stretched endlessly and the terrible road and rail conditions didnt matter. About twenty miles back Got another blown up road, Captain Wowie. Those elves really brought a lot of TNT. Well, just drive over them again. The M1A2 Abrams rattled over the cratered road. 1205 April 12th, 2020 CE 0603 Sun 12th, 196 AE In the sea between the UBK and Soane continent mainland The breeze of the sea made Rons fur flutter. He was looking over the side of the ship. Jeb Miller was beside him. Miller looked down at Ron who was gazing at the horizon line. First time on the sea? Not really. My first time was during the Second Rebellion. I was serving with mother during that time. The Second Rebellion? It was 5 years ago when the Second Rebellion happened. The UBK originally was a bunch of separate kingdoms and quite a lot of beastmen wanted it to be like that again. I was 11 at the time. I had to board the ship with the rest of the division to fight in many of the other kingdoms in the UBK. You were fighting at age 11? Dear gods no, I was an attendant. An attendant? Rank even lower than a squire. Basically menial tasks with no training or fighting whatsoever. I just had to prepare mother for battle. Miller nodded. Then when was your first one?" Ron looked up at Miller in confusion. What do you mean? Your first rebellion? That was 15 years ago. I was dropped off during the First Rebellion. Dropped off? Abandoned. Oh, sorry. I didnt mean to. Meh, I dont mind. Miller remembered something that Ron had said a few days ago. But didnt you say you were abandoned by your parents because of unknown circumstances? Wasnt it highly probable that you were abandoned because of the war? Ron vehemently shook his head. Of course not, the First Rebellion didnt affect the Cat Kingdom that much. There were minor incidents during that time in the Cat Kingdom but nothing big enough to have parents abandoning their kittens. Oh. They went back to looking at the scenery. Commander Wolfred was inside the ship flipping a gold coin. One of the hundreds of coins that he received as payment from the UBK. Gold was much more valuable in the United States than in the UBK. With the amount of gold they had received, the Diamond Wolves had profited a lot. Even with all the AKs and ammo that they had to buy and provide to the feline beastmen, they had enough left over that they could probably buy an entire US military outpost if one was being sold. 0445 April 12th, 2020 CE 0522 Sun 12th, 196 AE Afvalin, Elven Nation Admiral Edyrm Vaynore was in a terrible mood when he stepped onto his flagship, the aircraft carrier NN Conqueror. Frontline Captain John Rose had half of his body out of the commanders hatch of his speeding tank. He looked at the scenery. They have been advancing for hours upon hours after crossing the Verona and it has been mostly uneventful. They had captured a few groups of elves, witnessed the elves scorched earth tactics, and experienced minor confrontations that usually ended with the elves running away. RonTheBlackCat Poll question: So I have realized that a lot of people want to get to the Elven D-Day. Now the only issue is that I have the Diamond Wolves mercenary arc to do. The part where the Diamond Wolves and the cats face off against the invading elves in the kingdoms. I''m not sure how long you guys want it so I''m asking. Chapter 54 Part 1 – Guantanamo Bay, New Frontier RonTheBlackCat 0612 April 12th, 2020 CE 0624 Sun 12th, 196 AE Somewhere in the Elven Nation Soldiers tossed bushes, twigs, and various types of vegetation onto the artillery pieces. It was noted that the Americans had the capability to locate elven units with ease. How they were doing it was still in question but precautions were being taken. In order to combat this problem, Tarron had ordered the application of various types of camouflage onto magipanzers, artillery, bunkers, and nearly everything else that can hide. Magipanzers were being painted green on top and grasses were placed onto the turrets. 1800 April 12th, 2020 CE 0000 Sun 13th, 196 AE The northern beaches of the Elven Nation In near-complete darkness, a zodiac boat was quietly zipping through the waters. It quickly slid onto a beach. Six men jumped out and the boat was deflated. They quickly unpacked. One of the men put on his night-vision goggles. He silently walked up the sand mound and scanned around. He signaled to the others that the coast was clear. After completely unpacking within a few minutes, they quickly moved inland. 0359 April 13th, 2020 CE 0459 Sun 13th, 196 AE Eastern side of the Elven Nation One of the largest combined deployment of naval units in elven history was happening right in front of his eyes. Admiral Eyrom held no joy at it. A few weeks ago, he would have been extremely proud of leading such a force but now his face seemed stone cold. To him, this was just a suicide mission. He looked down at his watch. It was 5:00. Set off 5 fleet carriers, 5 light carriers, 5 battleships, 20 cruisers, 85 destroyers, and 95 submarines set off for the American west coast. It was more than half of the entire Elven fleet. 0436 April 13th, 2020 CE Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba New Frontier Although located in a somewhat similar topography as the original Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, it was now connected to the mainland. The Pentagon was a bit annoyed by this fact since it meant the possibility of prisoners escaping and hiding in the surrounding forests. Nevertheless, it was still being used. When it was transported from Earth to the New World, it came under attack by the phoenixes. Luckily a US Army unit that had been stationed in Iraq had also been transported nearby. They had taken casualties but air support was able to be called in and the phoenixes were dealt with. Now a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft came in for a landing on the airfield. The door on it opened once it came to a stop. Come on, get off! An elf was shoved out of the plane and landed face-first on the runway. Woah, be careful with them. I have had enough of keeping an eye on these fucking bastards. I will lead the rest off. The extremely frustrated soldier walked off and started dragging the elf that he had shoved off. The elves were all blindfolded, gagged, and tied at all the limbs. Originally only their hands were tied together. After a plane trip across the ocean, even their legs were bound. A few hours later Inside the detention camp, one of the elves finally had his blindfold taken off. His eyes darted around in the slightly lit room. The only other person in the room was the human who took off his blindfold. The human was clearly armed and seemed ready to shoot at any sign of anything going wrong. Suddenly a voice was heard. It didnt come from the human in the room. Now then. The voice sighed before continuing. Depending on how well you cooperate, you will either have a relaxing day or a not so relaxing one. Now, I have multiple questions that I hope you will answer. Get his gag off. The human in the room followed the order. Fuck you, you human! We will kill you all! Our armies will The voice cut him off. It was louder this time. Mhm. Ok. Now, the first question. Whos your leader? Our glorious Leader will trample you all! Just wait and see you pitiful Let me ask again. Who is your leader? His name? Our glorious Leader Tarron Venharice. You shall tremble when you hear of his name you insignifi Do you know what he looks like? Can you give us a description? Why should I tell you that, you vermin?" There was a short silence. Ok, next question. Do you know how large your navy is? Our navy? Our glorious navy is tremendous. Their guns will blast your cities to smithereens. How large is it? You will be groveling at our feet soon you inferior! The voice sighed and grumbled a bit. I guess we are doing it the hard way. Take him to his cell. Make sure he doesnt get a wink of sleep. Also no food. Let''s see how he likes Gitmo hospitality. None of the captured were very high ranking so the information asked of them involved questions that were less secretive but still important to know. The sizes of their military, their training, their goal, and other things. Of course, none of them willingly answered much so they were subjected to some conditioning. Chapter 54 Part 2 – Guantanamo Bay, New Frontier RonTheBlackCat Washington D.C. President Hayes was having a meeting to discuss the next steps of the war against the elves. How should we proceed with the invasion of the Elven homeland? Secretary of Defense Cralson was there to brief him on the overall situation and plan. We will begin with a 48-hour air and missile campaign to eliminate as much of the enemy as we can. We will target military bases, government buildings, and known positions. Then there will be multiple beach landings with air support. Once the beachheads are established, they will meet with each other and we will push inland. As of right now, Green Berets have already moved in. They should be gathering information and transferring it back to us quite soon. Ugh. We dont know how hard they are willing to fight. What secret weapons they have up their sleeves. And most of all, whether or not they have developed the bomb. It was clear that the elves had a secret weapon program but it was to an unknown extent. The US government feared that the elves might have already created an atom bomb. Although it was no threat to the US homeland, it was a major cause for concern for the invasion force. If the elves had buried it in the ground and set it to explode once US forces were on top of it, there was no telling the amount of damage it could inflict. Guantnamo Bay, New Frontier Two CIA agents were having a quick discussion in their office. So how are our elven guests doing? Pretty terrible. Thats good to hear. Any of them willing to spill anything yet? There are about as nationalistic as the Japanese were during World War 2. Military intelligence was not kidding when they complained about their lack of cooperation. Im taking that as a no then. We are tempting them with food and better conditions but man their nationalism must have been put into them from the moment they were born. They have already been starved, beat, left in the extreme cold and heat, forced to stay awake, and put into extremely uncomfortable positions. They arent budging. We may need to switch to harsher methods soon. Give it one or two more days. I rather not have to view the harsher methods. Me neither but we have to do what we have to do... wait, since this is considered US territory, are we still allowed to do our ya know... ''methods''" "Well, if you read the 50-page document detailing the annexation of the New Frontier, there''s a small clause somewhere in the middle that makes this area of the New Frontier, not a US territory in the name of preserving the natural wildlife of this world or some excuse." "Well doesn''t that mean having this structure is disturbing the wildlife." "The clause says that it doesn''t allow for any new buildings to be built." "Then how are we going to upgrade our facilities?" The agent chuckled. "Emphasis on the new." Elven landing zones in the Magus Imperium The temporary ports constructed at the start of the elven invasion of the Empire were extremely busy. Magipanzers were being driven back onto the landing craft and transport ships. Platoons of elves hurried across the coast. Crates were quickly being loaded on. Everyone was in a hurry. They knew that they couldnt evacuate everyone but they were going to try. The Americans were extremely close. They had been constantly harassed by American aircraft and even at sea, the harassment didnt stop. From her hatch, Ara looked out at the sea towards her homeland. Her blitzpanzer division, trained and focused on the specific use of speed, had easily outpaced the rest of the Second Wave army. Her division was assigned to a ship that would depart within two hours. It was easy because she didnt have that many magipanzers. From the casualties she had suffered during the battles and retreats, it wasnt much of a division anymore and was more comparable to a battalion. A total of 63 magipanzers remained out of the original 321. She was still surprised that she herself survived the entire ordeal. She had started to consider retiring soon. Frontline Keep firing! We must let them through the perimeter! The Second Wave Army, bolstered by parts of the Third Wave Army, fought a retreating battle. They had to hold on for as long as possible for the evacuations to finish. The last of their dragon artillery battalions fired their large bursts before being blown up by bombs that came from unknown places. The Americans have been bombarding the retreating elven forces that were even further behind the defending elven units. However, it was clear that the Americans were focused on trying to break through the defensive position. Coast of Elven Nation My Leader! Good to see you here. Although his words were positive, the way that they were spoken were definitely not. It was clear why. Zeno was out in the sun. Firing the Hexenbesens when it was raining didnt seem like a good idea. Flying experimental aircraft in the rain wasnt a good idea either but Zeno had been extremely insistent on it and gave the excuse that it was a good test of its all-weather capabilities so it was allowed. However, his wish of firing the Hexenbesens when it was raining was denied. It wasnt a test so failure because the weather would have been unacceptable and the firing had to happen soon so they couldnt wait for rain. Are you sure they will hit? We are firing multiple Hexenbesens. All targeted at the Americans on the coasts that they have reached. Although not a hundred percent accurate, some are bound to hit and do damage. Flames appeared below the first Hexenbesen as it started to rocket towards the sky. Coast of the Magus Imperium We are detecting multiple incoming missiles. All targeted at our ground forces in the area. Chapter 55 – Infiltration RonTheBlackCat I really wanna scrap this thing and restart... I have so much stuff that I wanna add and change. I feel that a lot of things could be better. Well, I have always heard that one should "Finish what you start" and I aim to do so. Once I finish this, I''m gonna tack on "[Draft]" at the end and write the Official version. Also minor change. From my research, I found that the Green Berets operated in 12 men teams, not 6. The 6 was the fact that the 12 men team could split into two groups since they are redundant. So instead of 6 Green Berets. There are 12. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0844 April 13th, 2020 CE 0722 Sun 13th, 196 AE Magus Imperium near the ocean Even though it was still morning, the sun had been up hours ago. In an open field, six unhooked Patriot Systems sat with their launchers pointed in the air. Behind the systems were an AN/MPQ-65 and the engagement control station. A three-man crew was inside the station. We got multiple tracks on the radar. What are they? ...three five eight missiles heading towards our direction. In the engagement control station, the TCO (Tactical Control Officer) watched as multiple dots appeared on the radar screen. He looked at the radio operator. Contact headquarters. The TDA (Tactical Director Assistant) looked up from his radio and at his superior. Tactical Director, one of our batteries is detecting missiles. Give me the radio. <<>> A few minutes later <<>> The TCO put down the radio and turned to the TCA (Tactical Control Assistant). Engage the tracks. One missile flew out of one of the 16-celled Patriot Systems. A few seconds later, a second missile launched from the same system. A few feet away, another one also fired. As per protocol, two PAC-3 missiles were fired for each enemy missile. The first PAC-3 quickly cruised through the sky. The altitude control motors started to adjust the PAC-3s trajectory. It got closer and closer to one of the elven Hexenbesens. It slammed into the Hexenbesen. In the air, a bright flash of a ball of orange occurred. Within minutes, multiple other bright flashes could be seen in the sky as the PAC-3 missiles struck the stream of Hexenbesens. The TCA looked at the radar screen. All missiles have been eliminated. Detections station near the coast, Elven Nation A few minutes ago How are the Hexenbesens? They seem to be doing fine. All on course. The elven MUD (Mana Usage Detector) operator watched as the dots that represented the fired Hexenbesens blinked forwards. The MUDs had a much longer range of detection than the MWEs (Mana Wave Emittor) since elves have been using and developing magitech for more than a few thousand years. Their foray into mechtech, their word for any complicated mechanical technology, only started about five hundred years ago. Thus the MWEs, capable of detecting any large physical objects, were much less developed than the MUDs, capable of detecting any sort of magic usage. One of the dots of the Hexenbesens stopped blinking. The operator looked back at his commander. Hm. One of them might have landed too early. Then a few more stopped blinking. Concern was obvious on the operator. They are all landing too early. Did we give them enough fuel? Im pretty sure the ground crews gave them more than enough. The last of the dots stopped blinking. The commander sighed. Get headquarters. There is a high chance that a malfunction occurred on them. Afvalin, Elven Nation Tarron was pacing around the control room as Zeno tried to explain what had happened. There might be a malfunction in the Hexenbesens. We will need to look if there were any engineering issues with them. From my knowledge, there shouldnt have been any. Ugh. We will have to take one apart and look through it piece by piece. None of the Hexenbesens had reached their intended targets. All of them dropped into the ocean at nearly the exact same location. Based on that, many thought that there might be a common problem within all of the Hexenbesens. If they could locate the problem, they believed they could fix it. Tarron continued to pace around in frustration. 1110 April 13th, 2020 CE 0835 Sun 13th, 196 AE Somewhere in the Elven Nation In a cave, a few men looked through their backpacks. When they had arrived, they had quickly traveled further inland just in case there were elf patrols on the beaches. Everyone has their ears on and secured right? Yep. Of course. A few others nodded. Pull on them to make sure. They tugged at their pointy ears. The ears almost felt life-like when touching. Ok, good. Make one last check on your clothing and weapons and put all the backpacks into the back. The men meticulously checked their clothing and the guns they had on them. They set their backpacks down in a corner in the cave. A blanket that was the same color as the walls of the cave covered the backpacks. Ok, Robert, you know the drill. Make sure no one discovers whats in this cave. Keep your radio open. Robert, the Warrant Officer, nodded. Leaving half of the team behind, the six men set off. Less than 30 minutes later Hello there, we are travelers from a long way who are a bit lost. Can you direct us to the nearest town? An old elven in a horse-drawn cart looked at the six elves standing on the side of the road. He pushed up his straw hat and regarded them carefully. The elves remained calm. The old elven pointed down the road behind him. Shouldnt be that far. Less than an hour of walk and you will get to the town of Caenalin. Alright, thanks! The old elven nodded and pulled the reins to get his horses moving again. Good to know that these disguises work. We just have to put on some pointy ears and wear clothing suitable to their era. Nothing too big. They were walking down a dirt road with no one around. It seems that this area was rural. 1220 April 13th, 2020 CE 0910 Sun 13th, 196 AE Elven temporary ports in the Magus Imperium With her magipanzer loaded up in the ship, Ara looked out at the sea. She was happy that she was finally getting out of this hellhole. She has heard from many about the transport ships being attacked by undetectable submarines but felt that she had a better chance of survival on the ocean than on dry land. It was clearly only a matter of time before American land and air forces would arrive and start bombarding their position. Even with hundreds of thousands of elves still fighting, it was clear that it was a losing battle. She could even hear some of the sounds of the battle that was occurring miles away. Frontline <<>> Explosions, whizzing bullets, and screaming could be heard everywhere. The elven soldier threw the headphones for the magiradio down onto the ground and cursed loudly. An American aircraft screamed past overhead. Elves hid behind the husks of their destroyed magipanzers. Occasionally popping out and shooting at the advancing Americans. New Elven HQ <<>> <<>> <<>> The magiradios in the tents were spilling out with the panicked sounds of the soldiers at the front. The magiradio operators struggled to keep up. With most of the high-ranked officers in command of the invasion forces dead, the elves were forced to form an ad hoc chain of command with a group of Lieutenant Generals and Major Generals on top. The elven headquarters have been placed in an unremarkable area filled with trees after the original headquarter that had been placed in open plains was devastated by American bombing. The generals bickered about the next plan of action. Frontline Stiff resistance from the elves ground the American advance to nearly a halt. Arriving at what was another one of the elven''s lines of defense, they were bombarded by artillery and rocket artillery. Even more, elven armored vehicles appeared in swarms. At certain points of the front, the elves even outnumbered the Americans by 50 to 1. Two lines of Magusian soldiers hid behind an Abrams. They slowly advanced as it drove forward. Keep your head down and dont peek out! The Magusian that were crouching behind the American magitank was thankful that it had been so far impenetrable. None of the elves weapons seemed to have any effect. In comparison, the Magusians magitank had been completely worthless in protecting them. It would have been destroyed in a single shot. An Abrams beside them started to drive backward. <<>> Its machine gun continued to fire at the anti-tank guns lining the small hill. Elves were pushing out the destroyed anti-tank guns and replacing them with new ones. Occasionally an elven armored vehicle will appear only to be taken out a few seconds later. <<>> The American magipanzers started to pull back. They continued firing but it was clear that they were running. Their infantry was turning back too. The elves on the hill, seeing this, started to cheer. Then thousands of small pieces of metal blanketed the area. A few minutes later The commanding officer shook his head. We need engineers to clear a path. Tell them to get their explosives and bulldozers. Actually, maybe we should just call a bombing run on this. Explosives and bulldozers arent gonna be enough. A literal wall of corpses and metal blocked the advance. 1235 April 13th, 2020 CE 0917 Sun 13th, 196 AE Caenalin, Elven Nation The town was bustling with elves. Elven children ran around seemingly without a care in the world. Five elves walked on the streets looking around. The buildings beside them were all lined up neatly. A few elves were walking around. The teams commanding officer, Pablo Carter walked up to one of the elves. Excuse me, sir. Do you happen to know where we can find a map? We are travelers who have gotten lost. A block down, there is an inn. You can go in there and ask around. They should have maps for sale. Thanks, sir. They handed the two maps to the innkeeper. 5 Bronze. Bronze was not actual bronze but was a type of bill. The elven currency system was a bit complicated. They solely relied on paper money that was printed out as one of three types. Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The value of each was obvious. They handed the innkeeper 5 Bronze. These were not real. They were counterfeit bills made to look as much like the real thing as possible. It was a good thing that a couple of the captured elven soldiers had been carrying cash on them. The innkeeper didnt even look at the bills and quickly placed them in the register. Near the ocean, Elven Nation Bulldozers dug into the ground. They made small rectangular pits. A Guard magipanzer drove into it. Its body was inside the pit while the turret was outside with its gun pointing forward. Multiple pits for magipanzers were created. Anti-tank thauguns were dug in. Grass and leaves were thrown on top of them. Chapter 56 – Abandoned RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1152 April 13th, 2020 CE 0856 Sun 13th, 196 AE Airfield miles behind the frontline First Lieutenant Scott Miller rested on his bed in the barracks. Simple bunk beds lined the interior of the barracks. He was more used to the apartment dorm style that they had at their base. Back home on his base, he even had his own room. But right now he didnt really care. His squadron had been doing endless sorties a day. There never seemed to be an end to the number of elves that they had to blow to craters. It was a cycle of landing his aircraft, taking a few minutes of break, getting loaded up with missiles and bombs, and lifting off to take care of more of them. His squadron was even called to bomb the already destroyed sectors because the Army just couldnt get through the sheer amount of destruction. 1304 April 13th, 2020 CE 0932 Sun 13th, 196 AE Frontline There was a distinct rumbling coming from the red sky. American aircraft! American aircraft! The elves that had crowded the road scrambled to disperse. An elf had an injured elfs arm slung over him. The injured elf was missing a leg so he couldnt walk fast. Heavily injured and maimed elves were everywhere. Come on, quickly! Magitrucks and magipanzers drove off the road. We are getting out of the magipanzer! But sir! Im not dying in this metal box Corporal Daejor quickly climbed out of his commander hatch and jumped down to run. He and his crew had been lost for multiple days. He was pretty sure that they had been behind enemy lines multiple times without knowing it. Being a lone Guard magipanzer retreating from the frontline, they werent targeted by American aircraft until they had rejoined their forces. It was complete hell afterward and his magipanzer had been nearly obliterated. At this point, he has had enough. 1335 April 13th, 2020 CE 0947 Sun 13th, 196 AE Caenalin, Elven Nation Pablo looked out of his inn rooms window. The sun had finally gone down and lamps lit the streets of the town. There were a few cars in the streets and some elves walking around. He held his radio to his mouth. <<>> They had gotten the room for a few hours under the excuse of taking a rest. The rooms werent expensive and they had brought along a lot of counterfeit bills so it was fine. Pablo turned to Operation Sergeant Dennis Richard. Round up everyone we will be visiting the local bar. Noise was everywhere. Elves were laughing. Beer jugs were hitting each other. The door swung open and six elves walked in. The bustle of the bar continued. It wasnt irregular for groups of elves to come into the bar so no one cared. They sat down at an empty round table. A waitress came up. She smiled at them. Hello there boys, what can I get for you. We are travelers. What drink would you recommend? Our most popular item would be our classic beer. Then all of us will be getting one. We are just here for a drink. She nodded. Well, coming right up. A few minutes later, an elf waiter came to their table. They looked in surprise at the elf. It wasnt an elf. His ears werent pointy. It was a human who had a collar around his neck. Here are your beers esteemed sirs. After placing the beers on the table, he bowed his head. The team looked at the human walking away. They looked at each other. Drinking for a bit, they listened to the conversations around them. One quickly caught their attention. A group of elves were sitting at a table not that far away. Have you guys heard? There are rumors that the war isnt going quite in our favor. Really? Why do you think we are building all these defenses all around the coasts and the fields for? The papers keep saying that we are winning but its not as detailed as before. Something is most definitely wrong. Are you sure? Wasnt it predicted that the humans shouldnt have technology capable of defeating us? And look, we are even able to buy human slaves now. But what if we arent fighting humans anymore? What do you mean? We have been underwater for hundreds of years. What if another species became superior to the humans? The elf snorted before replying. What species could that be! Maybe the dwarves? They were technologically inferior to the humans. Its been hundreds of years, that could have changed. I have heard stories about the craftsmanship of the dwarves from the Insula Continent. But still, to have advanced to the points of beating us I dont believe it. Hm, you believe what you believe, but Im getting ready for an invasion. Paying for their drinks the team stood up and walked out of the bar. They had gathered what they needed. Pablo had heard about the dwarves on the Insula Continent. The dwarves could be considered an endangered species. The five three-way Colonization Wars fought between the Mach, Magus, and Insulan natives basically left the Insula Continent barren. 1500 April 13th, 2020 CE 1030 Sun 13th, 196 AE North entrance of Caenalin Their backpacks were handed to them by the other six. We got some extra information when we went to the bar. Seems like the elves are preparing defenses around the area. We will be looking for them. Our satellites did indicate some troop movements here and there but it wasnt significant. Pablo got out the map that they had bought. I want your team to go north to scout that area out. We will move east. Pablo pointed to another spot on the map The rendezvous point is here near this city. Our main mission is still to gather intelligence on their capital but we cant ignore the possible buildup of defenses that our satellite couldnt spot. The men around him nodded. One of their two Weapons Sergeants, Fredrick Schultz, peered out of his night vision binoculars. The Green Berets had a system of redundancy. In the 12 men team, there were two weapon sergeants, two communications sergeants, two medical sergeants, and two engineering sergeants. This made it easier for them to split into two teams. Yep, those are definitely heavy artillery pieces. 15 cm. Well camouflaged too for that size. I highly doubt our satellites would be able to spot them. There were multiple camouflaged artillery pieces lying across the field. Well visible on the ground level, viewing it from the air was another question. Frederick scanned to the right. Panzerwerfers too. I also see a couple of anti-tank guns. Not exactly sure which caliber though. I think it''s a Pak 43. Pablo nodded. Lets go. We will relay this information back once we get into a less vulnerable position. 1504 April 13th, 2020 CE 1032 Sun 13th, 196 AE Frontline They drove up near a town. To be exact, what remained of a town. It had been completely burned to ashes during the elven invasion. Captain John Rose looked around at the destruction and shook his head. Almost every settlement that the elves had conquered had been destroyed. It was a total war. John looked at his map. They were only a couple of miles away from the coast. The remnants of the elves had nowhere to escape too. It was confirmed that all elven ships have left without them. Coast of the Magus Imperium The retreating elf army came up to the sea. Their temporary ports were barren. There wasnt a single ship in sight. Group of elves from the same unit started forming clumps on the beaches. They were discussing among themselves. Where are our ships? I think they left without us. What do we do now. An elf, a magiradio operator, listened to his magiradio. The other elves looked at him. Someone giving orders? The magiradioelf was silent for a bit as he listened intently. We are getting orders. Seems like a colonel is taking charge. What are we going to do? It seems like we are fighting Fighting? Is he crazy? We all are going to die! We are still a couple hundred thousand strong. There were nearly four million of us on this continent at the start! What do you think a couple hundred thousand are going to do against them? The magiradio operator shook his head. Colonels orders. 1524 April 13th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. Mr. President, we have the remnants of the elven invasion force completely surrounded and backed up to the beaches. They have nowhere to escape. President Hayes nodded. How well are we dealing with the ones that had escaped? Our attack submarines are hunting them. However, a large number of their ships will survive. There are just too many of them. Our satellites have gathered details of suspicious activities from a large number of enemy ships. We tried to keep an eye on them but cloudy conditions over the eastern portion of their island are preventing us from doing so. We are expecting that they are preparing for defense. The Navy is gathering a large force to deal with it. 1113 Sun 13th, 196 AE Primopolis, Magus Imperium An attendant barged in. Emperor Arstant! Great news! What is it? And knock, please. I am just about to retire for the night. Sorry, sir. The Americans have the remaining elven forces surrounded on the beaches. The elves have been almost all pushed out of the country! I guess its nearly over so many have perished. How are our men doing? They are doing their best at supporting the Americans at the front, sir. Good. Emperor Arstant was conflicted. He was happy that the elves were finally out of his country. But he knew it was the end of an era. And the beginning of a new one. And this new one wont be dominated by one of the Imperiums. 1524 April 13th, 2020 CE 1042 Sun 13th, 196 AE Frontline We have them completely surrounded but they dont seem to be surrendering. Damn those elves are stubborn. Lieutenant Colonel Manfred Rogers, the commander of the 3rd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, part of the 1st Armored Division, wondered about the current situation. He had expected them to surrender seeing that this had no meaning left at all. The elves had nothing to gain if they kept on fighting. It seemed like logic and common sense werent in their dictionary. A human aircraft flew high overhead. Anti-aircraft crewmen scrambled to their guns. A message was blared out. <<<"You have one hour to surrender. Please send a negotiator with a white flag so we can discuss terms. I repeat. You have one hour to surrender. Please send a negotiator with a white flag so we can discuss terms. If we do not receive anyone within an hour, may God have mercy on you all.>>> There were surprised murmurs among the elves. "The damned humans learned our language." 0925 April 14th, 2020 CE Guantnamo Bay, New Frontier So are you ready to talk? The CIA agent who originally talked to the elves through a speaker in another room was finally in the interrogation room himself. It was clear that the elves, being tied up, couldnt use their magic. The elf didnt respond. The elf was emaciated. Literal bones could be seen through his skin. Food in the form of meat was right in front of him but he looked away. The agent sighed. Guess we are doing the hard way. Chapter 57 – Turned Table? RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Warning: Consists of some minor "torture" 0934 April 14th, 2020 CE Guantanamo Bay, New Frontier They dragged the elf into a dimly lit room. One of the humans faced him. What were your countrys plans? What kind of building does your Leader live in? What do they look like? How large is your navy? A slap was given on the abdomen each time the elf stayed quiet. Each slap grew stronger and stronger. Answer the damn questions! A slap was given on the face. The elf had tears in his eyes but still spat on the ground. He snorted You think slapping me for a bit will make me talk. Dont make me laugh. You fucking inferior He was grabbed and had his face slammed into the wall. You think thats enough to He was slammed into the wall again. Blood was gushing out of his nose. There were bruises on his face. This process of slapping and walling continued for hours. 1624 April 13th, 2020 CE 1112 Sun 13th, 196 AE Frontline Lieutenant Colonel Manfred Rogers stretched in his Abrams and sighed. Using night vision, they had kept an eye to see if any elves were coming over to surrender. An hour had just passed and there were no signs of any. He got on his radio to contact the other Lieutenant Colonels in the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Teams of the 1st Armored Divison. <<>> The Lieutenant Colonel of the 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment that was in their Armored Brigade Combat Team joined in on the conversation. <<>> Zooming past overhead, F-15s unleashed a torrent of bombs onto the disorganized elven forces below. There was a response of blind and inconsistent anti-aircraft fire that had little effect. The elves couldnt even see their targets. Their comrades who had escaped had left behind searchlights. However, the human aircraft was so fast that the searchlights were completely useless. Scott looked out of his F-15s window. Bright orange explosions lit up the pitch-black beaches. He gave a thumbs-up to his Weapon System Officer, Gerald Wallace, who was sitting in the seat behind him. Scott banked his F-15 to the left to get ready for another bombing run. Corporal Daejor hugged his legs. I dont want to die. I dont want to die. I dont want to die. Oh gods, please save me. He rocked back and forth in the hole he had dug only a few hours ago. His Guard magipanzer had been destroyed from an air attack and his crew has already scattered. He didnt even have any weapons on him other than his pistol. He also had no commanders to answer to. Other than the colonel that was currently taking charge, elves were following whoever was the highest-ranked of the survivors of their units. Corporal Daejor had no idea where his unit was. It was pitch black in the hole but there were constant flashes from the explosions that shook the ground like an earthquake. Miles behind the Frontline All aircraft have dropped their payloads. Its our turn now. The guns on M109A7 Paladins of the 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment all traversed upwards in unison. The blasts of the gun rocked the air. The self-propelled artillery moved back a bit from the force of the blast. A few minutes later Frontline The explosions stopped. To the elves, it was a sign that the American assault would begin. The elven infantry in their foxholes and poorly organized trenches gripped their weapons and peeked out. The magipanzer crews stayed quiet in their magipanzers. Anticipation was heavy in the air. Lights had all been turned off in order to surprise the Americans. Then, the ground shook suddenly. The Americans haven''t begun their assault. They were just getting ready for another round of firing. Throughout the night, the firing let up only for short intervals. It switched constantly from American aircraft bombing runs and artillery strikes. A few hours later A convoy of trucks appeared on the road. The truck in front of the convoy stopped a few yards from the line of firing M109A7s. The Lieutenant Colonel of the 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment walked to meet the men exiting the truck. He shouted to someone on his left. Bannock. The Magusians are here. Bannock walked up towards them. Are you with the 26th Brigade Field Artillery? Yes. We have orders to support you. You are the 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment correct? A blast from a Paladin interrupted their conversation. Yes. We are unsure of the range of your guns so you might need to get closer. Wait a second. Bannock turned towards his Lieutenant Colonel. We are going to need to give them a map that marks where the elves are. I dont think their guns have the range of ours. I will get someone to grab it. Bannock turned back towards the Magusian commanders. Give us a second. We will show you where you need to fire. 2230 April 13th, 2020 CE 0215 Sun 14th, 195 AE <<>> All around the front, the artillery immediately died down. This command was also given out to the Magusian artillery units through their communication lines. Only the tip of the sun was out of the horizon. For nearly 6 hours, hundreds of thousands of pounds of bombs and shells were dropped on the elves. Captain John Rose directed his tanks forward. The orders had been given many hours ago. Once the cease fire order was given to the artillery, all other ground units would begin an advance. Issac and his infantry platoon slowly walked forward. They had disembarked from their Bradleys earlier. The ground was full of craters. It seemed highly doubtful that anybody had survived. Then they heard voices. We surrender! We surrender! Please dont shoot. They couldnt understand them but it was clear from their hands that were up and the lack of weapons they were carrying that they were surrendering. An American infantryman looked down into a foxhole. He laughed. Hey, this guy in this hole is still alive. Get over here. You gotta look at this. Hes asleep. A few other infantrymen walked towards the hole. Hey, wake up! Huh. Wh Daejor blinked his eyes and looked around before slowly putting his hands up. There were humans surrounding his hole and had their guns pointed at him. He realized that he had fallen asleep during the bombardment since it was day now. 0424 April 14th, 2020 CE 0512 Sun 14th, 195 AE Afvalin, Elven Nation Zeno was pacing around in Tarrons office. He had some dark circles under his eyes. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Hexenbesens. Im sure of it. We looked through everything! Every little detail. They should have worked. Tarron sighed. But they didnt. Are you sure you arent overlooking anything? Unless they were shot down, then I havent overlooked anything. The fuel consumption is correct. There were no problems with the rocket en Zeno got interrupted. Wait, stop. What? Say the first few words of what you just said again. He blinked. Unless they were shot down, then Stop. What? You cant be serious. The Hexenbesens have a speed of more than 700 miles per hour. Nearly the speed of sound. Nothing can shoot it down. Tarron sighed yet again. Nothing in our arsenal but what about the Americans? Their aircraft obviously can go faster than the speed of sound. It wont be far-fetched if they have technology capable of shooting down aircraft that can fly at the speed of sound. We have technology capable of shooting down our own aircraft. The Americans should have technology capable of shooting down their own too. Tarron shook his head before continuing. The Hexenbesens arent going to work. Im putting a stop to all Hexenbesen production. What?! You cant just do this! They will work! If we fire a large enough amount of them, then we can surely overwhelm whatever defenses they have set up. Tarron set down his pen. I know you were very invested in this project but we need the material for the jets. The Hexenbesens arent working and we dont have time to produce more. Even if its just an issue as you originally said and it wasnt the Americans shooting them down, we dont have time to fix it. 0506 April 13th, 2020 CE 0533 Sun 14th, 195 AE Somewhere in the Pacific Admiral Edyrm Vaynore sat quietly in his office. His aircraft carrier rocked up and down in the violent waves. A large storm system was over them. Outside, the sky was dark and the waves were ceaseless. A massive formation of ships moved forwards. Each ship going up and down the violent tides. Joint Region Marianas, Guam A radar operator started to look a bit panicked as he watched his screen. Holy shit. Ummmm guys you guys gotta take look at this. Is there an issue with the radar? I dont think it isum... it might be the entire elven navy. Washington D.C. President Hayes was clearly agitated. How did the satellites not see that large of a fleet? Its a 100 ship fleet for crying out loud. Secretary of Defense Cralson had a glum look on his face. Clouds, sir. By their luck, a massive storm is moving through that entire area. What units do we currently have based in Guam? Not much. We have stopped the continuous rotation of our bomber forces there since we no longer have any adversaries in the Pacific. It is also much faster to go across the Atlantic to reach the Imperiums so units have been redeploying from Guam. However, from the direction that they are going. They are going to completely miss Guam. They are heading straight for Hawaii. Cralson paused shortly before continuing again. We have time. If they were going for Guam. We would have been in trouble. We can rush a response using ships, submarines, and aircraft from Naval Base San Diego and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. There are also additional units in other naval bases and Air Force bases across the West Coast. We can father what we have and assemble an organized response. If push comes to shove, we can try to reactivate the USS Missouri in Honolulu. The USS Missouri? The battleship? Isnt that just a museum piece now? How are we even going to use it as a naval ship? I doubt it can even move. Well, we are not going to use it as a ship. We can use it as a stationary missile platform. There are four Mk 141 Harpoon Launchers and eight Mk 143 Armored Box Launchers that were installed in the late 1980s. Those weapon platforms can probably be reactivated in time. Phalanx CIWs that can maybe still be used. We need everything we have got. RonTheBlackCat Chapter 58 – Preparing for Future Battles RonTheBlackCat I think I have run out of chapter title ideas XD. I''m still quite proud of coming up with "Blunderwaffe" 0215 April 14th, 2020 CE West Coast of the United States USS John C. Stennis Rear Admiral Charlie Kirkland looked sternly over the horizon. The sun had yet to rise for the new day. He shook his head. This will be one hell of a fight. In addition to the ships in the carrier strike group of the USS John C. Stennis, 13 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, 7 Los Angeles-class submarines, 5 Ticonderoga-class cruisers, 4 Virginia-class submarines, and even both Zumwalt-class destroyers were at or sailing towards Hawaii. Tucson Air National Guard Base, Arizona Lights lit up the base. Pilots ran onto the runway and towards their planes. The alarms of the base seemed like they were going haywire. They quickly climbed into their F-16A/Bs and F-16C/Ds. Although designed for air superiority, the F-16 Fighting Falcon was considered a multi-role aircraft. They were capable of carrying and were currently equipped with anti-ship missiles. One by one, they taxied onto the runway. The 162nd Fighter Wing, which was based at the Tucson Air National Guard Base. was flying to the Hickman Air Force Base. The Hawaii Air National Guard that was based at the Hickam Air Force Base had the 154th Wing which was only equipped with F-22s. Those would be useful against the naval aircraft that the elves have brought but useless against any of the elven ships. On the west coast, squadrons of jets were taking off from Air Force and Air National Guard Bases. 0724 April 14th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. We have also detected a large number of submarines. However, the exact number is unknown. The President was visibly irritated at the news. How bad is the situation? Will they be able to reach Hawaii? Our current analysis of the situation still deems it highly unlikely that they will be able to reach Hawaii. Even with Guam closer to the United States than our original world, we still have time. The President started drumming his fingers on the desk. What to do what to do Its clear that we have to crush them. Yes, Cralson, I understand that. Im worried about the civilians. If we fail, Hawaii would be in danger. A million people live there. Should we call for an evacuation I need to assure the people that we can handle the situation. Should we keep it a secret to prevent mass panic... It has been more than 80 years since an enemy nation has ever attacked American soil. And it would be at the same location. During his presidency. He took a deep breath and his drumming turned louder. 0811 April 14th, 2020 CE 0705 Sun 14th, 195 AE Beaches of the Magus Imperium Issac and one of his squadmates wandered down the beach. Although under the pretense of looking for more elves, they were just having a leisurely walk. Issac watched as his squadmate kicked at one of the charred remains of an elf. How many prisoners is this? Issac looked up at the question. From what I have heard, nearly fifty thousand. His squadmate whistled at the number. Have we ever gotten this large amount of POWs? Probably back in World War Two or something. Still, it''s surprising that that many are still alive. Issac glanced around at the elven bodies lying on the beaches. Im pretty sure this is going to be a headache to handle for whoever is handling this. Poor guy. Issac chuckled. Good thing we are just grunts. Captain Rose looked out at the ocean from the cratered beach. He knew that they would be sailing across very soon. Elven weapons were strewn all over the blackened sand. The burnt-out husk of an elven tank was just a few yards away. Around him, the infantry was guiding the surviving elves off the beach. Afvalin, Elven Nation The headquarters was bustling with elves. The situation has been turning worse and worse by the day. High-ranking officers talked amongst themselves. We have lost contact with multiple of the other convoys. We have also received absolutely no reports of the sinking of any of their submarines. How bad is it? We are expecting a 60% survival rate. All the officers went quiet. That was a couple hundred thousand casualties. The Leader would not be happy with that. The ocean between The Elven Nation and Magus Imperium The journey has so far been extraordinarily smooth. It was surprising in comparison to the hell she had experienced from the Americans during her retreat. Ara placed a hand on her Knight. Its metal armor glinted in the sun. She thought back to her mother. She quietly sprouted out her thoughts as if she wanted to confirm them. Maybe I really should try settling down. Finding someone nice to marry doesnt seem too bad right now. If it was a month ago, she would have scoffed at the idea. Distinguishing herself was all she could think about in the past. Somewhere in the Elven Nation The two Green Beret split-teams have rejoined each other after scouting their areas out. They had been on the move all night and morning. Finding a comfortable and secure place, the two weapon sergeants started conversing. They have done immense amounts of preparation in these areas. They are throwing whatever they have together. They seem to be using some of their outdated arsenals. I spotted some clearly older, WW1-era-style artillery pieces and tanks. They look extremely strange but by technological comparison, they are definitely WW1. Well, from what we have learned about the elves from the information we gathered from the natives, those strange-looking WW1 era tanks and artillery are probably about 150 years old. Im surprised they are even in working condition. We didnt find any outdated 150-year-old weird equipment from our investigation. In this area over here, they are much less prepared but they are all definitely German-style WW2 era equipment. They are currently still in the process of fortifying. Im not sure how our satellites havent been able to spot any of the movement for this. The Assistant Operations and Intelligence Sergeant commented on that. This continent is extremely rich in temperate forests. They could have just decided to move them through the forests instead of the roads. Why would they do that though? They should have no understanding of our reconnaissance technology. Maybe they do suspect that we have the capability to view them using satellites. Do they even know what satellites are? Doubtful. They have been underwater all this time. However, its likely that they felt it extremely fishy that we were able to strike their forces at any time and anywhere. Pablo nodded at the conversation and turned towards one of the communications sergeants. Start sending this information back. Inform HQ that we will go back to our main objective. They had brought along radios for communication with headquarters. It was ascertained that the Elves could not intercept their radios. The elves relied on mana waves for communications so it was doubtful if the elves had any technology capable of listening in on radio waves. 0933 April 14th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. President Hayes was in another deep discussion of the current situation. Although the elves in the Pacific are clearly an issue, we still cant neglect the invasion of the elves homeland. Cralson nodded his head. The fanaticism of the elves is a worrisome factor. They do seem more similar to Imperial Japan than Nazi Germany. Is there a way we can exploit this fact? We can do some things similarly but not everything. Keeping the current leader of the elves is not possible. Hes the source of this fanaticism. According to the elves we have captured, he also isnt viewed as a god. A large portion of elves themselves have a hatred of humans. What are our choices then? Our most feasible option right now and the one we are currently preparing for is to launch an invasion. There are a few problems with this. We will most certainly meet stiff resistance from their military and the civilian population. In addition, we will have to worry about resistance fighters. This wont be like Iraq in the Gulf War. We faced a total of 900,000 then, the elves here have more than a couple million. It will be a hard fight. Our second option that may solve those issues and may seem like an easier option is to launch a nuclear missile or two and hope that their leader surrenders. If their leader surrenders, then the elves themselves might lose some of their fanaticism. Similar to what happened with Imperial Japan. Whats different is that we can just dispose of the elven leader afterward. I highly doubt we can use him as we did with Emperor Hirohito. The President pondered about Cralsons suggestions. What would happen if we launch our missiles and destroy a few of their cities but they dont surrender? Well, we would either have to actually invade them or completely annihilate them using our nuclear weapons. Well, the first one leads back to our first feasible option and the second will certainly cause an outcry from the people. Thats why I believe an invasion, however hard it is, is our most feasible option here. 1148 April 14th, 2020 CE 0854 Sun 14th, 2020 CE Elven Nation The Green Berets were continuing towards their objective at a quick pace. They had already passed a few towns and cities and were able to gather the current circumstances of the civilians. From what more they had observed, the entire elven civilian population was barely informed of their current predicament but they did seem to have an inkling that something was going wrong. However, they had immense trust in their leader and brushed it off. The elven newspapers were clearly filled with propaganda and falsehoods. Articles ranged from saying that they were winning and that the human Empire has already fallen to advertisements for human slaves. There were many pictures in the newspapers of their past victorious battles against the Magus. 1148 April 14th, 2020 CE 0554 Sun 14th, 2020 CE Kingdom of Albea, Soane Continent Miller got out of the Humvee to stretch. He looked back at Wolfred who was sitting in the drivers seat. That was a long trip. We are a few miles from the frontline. Seems like these Nazi elves havent made much progress. Well, we are here to push them back. Anyways, Im exhausted. Lets get some rest. Behind them, other Diamond Wolves got off of their vehicles. In addition, the Cat Kingdoms Fifth Division was further behind. The Diamond Wolves had purchased trucks in order to accompany them. Diamond Wolves Interlude Part 1 RonTheBlackCat 1148 April 14th, 2020 CE 0554 Sun 14th, 2020 CE Kingdom of Albea, Soane Continent Miller stretched. That was quite some journey. We still got work ahead. Would prefer to have a short break. I was the one who drove. You slept nearly the entire trip. Still doesnt feel comfortable being crammed into a vehicle for hours on end. Werent you in the Marines? You know my military background as clear as day, commander. Wolfred shook his head. Lets go theres no time to dally. We still have to get everything organized before we can actually go to bed. The area was bustling with soldiers of all shapes and sizes. Wolves, bears, tigers, and many other strong beastmen. There were also human knights. Following Wolfred, Miller walked up to Flametail. Wolfred got her attention. We are here as support attached to your division but I would still like to join in on whatever meetings you high-level officers are having. Of course. I was just told that we should be having one soon. You and your subcommander can join. Just follow me. They were welcomed by a large bear. Commander Flametail. Good to see you again. It is too, Commander Grizzlyjack. Grizzlyjack looked down at Ron and smiled. Ron! How are you doing! Still falling off bridges? Commander Grizzlyjack chuckled at his own comment. Ron bowed. Im doing well, Commander Grizzlyjack. No need to be so formal. I still remember the time you were just this small and I had to dive into a river to save you after the bridge came out right under you." He looked towards Miller and Wolfred. Ah, you two must be part of the human mercenaries that were hired. Miller felt as if the ground shook from the bears booming voice. They got their introductions out of the way and were welcomed into the tent for the meeting. There were tigers, jaguars, wolves, bears, and a few other types of beastmen sitting around. There were also a few humans. Sitting at the opposite end of the entrance was a very imposing rhino beastmen. Welcome Commander Flametail and Commander Grizzlyjack. They both saluted and replied at the same time. Reporting for duty, Lord Commander The rhino who was called the Lord Commander turned his attention to Miller and Wolfred. You two must be the mercenaries from the United States. Welcome, Commander Wolfred and Subcommander Miller I presume. Im Lord Commander Darkhorn. Im in command of all frontline forces. Wolfred and Miller acknowledged him and the meeting began. He began to speak. We have been fighting the elves for some time right now and we have only been on the defense and retreating. However, it is now time for us to begin our counterattack. We will push them out of the Kingdom of Albea! Murmurs rose up in the room among the commanders. Miller and Wolfred stayed quiet and looked around. One of the humans in the room raised his voice above the murmurs. Lord Commander. Yes, Gladwine? With all due respect, sir, how do you expect us to accomplish that? The elves have much more superior technology and there had been no way to get around that. True until now. But with the help of the mercenaries we have hired The mercenaries?! Sir! This is a slight to the honor of knights! Depending on mere mercenaries! Commander Flametail has written to me that she holds these mercenaries'' abilities in high regard. I have also heard that their country has nearly pushed the elves out of the Imperitoria Continent, single-handedly. He looked towards Miller and Wolfred. I have high expectations. I hope that you do not disappoint. But Lord Commander! Commander Gladwine sat down clearly upset. I will tolerate no more protests. We still have more matters to discuss. The meeting proceeded for around another hour. There was further discussion about the positioning of the units and the plan for the offensive. Flametail walked out of the tent with Ron following closely behind. Still carrying that little kitten with you, Commander Flametail? Commander Grayears, a wolf beastmen, greeted them with that. Flametail turned around and nodded with a neutral expression. Ron is a very good squire, thank you. Im not that surprised that humans are with you too. He laughed before continuing. Typical. The weak always flock to you cats. Ron started hissing. Ron stop. His hissing immediately stopped but his hostile stare didnt. Understood Madam Flametail. Madam Flametail this. Madam Flametail that. It seems so funny. Well, now if you will excuse me, I have some important matters to attend to. You cats can go laze around in the sun. In a tent, Ron voiced his complaints in a child-like manner. But mom, he was being a prick again. I know, Ron. But we cant be having fights amongst ourselves right before a major offensive. If it was any other day, I would have given him a good beating. Ron was still clearly upset. Flametail shook her head. Hes just being jealous of our division''s accomplishments. Now go get some rest. We will be marching into battle tomorrow. Ron nodded and walked off to his tent. His back felt very sore. He had been accidentally bumped off of the trucks multiple times. Miller asked Wolfred as they were walking towards their supply trucks. Im not sure if I had heard that rhino correctly but they want us to be the vanguard? Seems like that Lord Commander guy is testing us. From the way this is planned, the only actual support we are getting in this battle for the first 30 minutes is from the Fifth Division. Wont it also be bad for him if we lost? Hes being cautious. All the other forces are far enough that they will be able to quickly retreat if we fail. We are just some mercenary unit. Of course, he doesnt trust us completely but he clearly has high hopes in us. We just gotta prove ourselves. What are we going to do about those elven tanks? I thought we were planning to use hit and run tactics. Wolfred pulled something out of the back of the truck. Why do you think I brought these then? Less than an hour later Miller started setting up his tent when a commotion got his attention. Wolfred was arguing with a human knight. As he got closer, he saw the human knight was Commander Gladwine. I challenge you to a duel! I dont use a sword. He laughed. You dont have a sword? The elves dont have them either. And neither does the Imperials. And why do you think they dont have them? Swords are archaic weapons. I will give you a sword and we will A booming voice disrupted Gladwine. What is happening here? Gladwine turned and immediately saluted. Lord Commander! Commander Gladwine. What are you doing? Sir, um, I just wanted to test the capabilities of these mercenaries. As they are a vital component of an operation that my men will participate in, I need to understand if they are qualified. There is no need for that. But sir! Darkhorn glared at Gladwine. Are you doubting the words of a superior officer? No sir! I will take my leave, sir. Gladwine scampered away as Darkhorn looked over at Wolfred Sorry about that, hes a proud knight. Its fine. Wolfred knew that even Darkhorn had some doubts about the Diamond Wolves'' capabilities. It was hypocritical of Darkhorn but Wolfred was still happy that he was giving them a chance to prove themselves. Afterward, Darkhorn departed as quickly as he had arrived. 1535 April 14th, 2020 CE 0747 Sun 14th, 2020 CE Elven Headquarters, Subican Kingdom Field Marshal Nieven Ianna, commander of all elven forces on the Soane Continent, studied the laid-out map. The current line is finally stable. We can now restart the offensive. Their allied human kingdom, the Subican Kingdom, had finally mobilized their entire army. Even though it only consisted of human knights who were much weaker when compared to the beastmen, with this vast boost in manpower, the elves were able to regroup their spread-out forces without losing any territory. He laid out his plans to his subordinates. We will push through their center. When we cause that to collapse, the sides will give way. Having such a meager force, it was decided that it was best that they concentrated it into a heavy punch that could destabilize the technologically inferior enemy. 0825 April 15th, 2020 CE 0412 Sun 15th, 2020 CE Frontline The magipanzer engines roared to life. A division of them headed straight for the Soane League Armys center. Report! Surprise attack! Multiple groups of tanks are coming! Scouts from the Soane League had quickly come back when they sighted a large magipanzer force headed straight towards them. The usual elven artillery fire and close air support that preceded attacks didnt appear so the Soane League was caught completely off guard. News of it spread quickly across the frontline. The Diamond Wolves had moved out earlier in the morning to take up the position from where they will be starting the offensive. A somewhat worried member of the Diamond Wolves was talking with Wolfred. What do we do about this commander? We cant be expected to take on 100 tanks. We have never done this before. We are literally in the way of an armored spearhead. Wolfred shook his head. Well, it seems like the elves got a jump on us. Funny how we decided to go on an offensive at nearly the same time. Miller looked up from cleaning his gun. Well, we should be prepared for this. Depends on how large that tank force is. The scouts just said multiple groups of them. Any orders to pull out? Wolfred shook his head again. The Soanes is trying to stop it. Seems like that rhino is pulling units from the flanks to reinforce us. If they punch through, the Soanes is gonna have a major problem. I wont be surprised if they had invested everything into this defensive position. Well, I guess we are using a different weapon. The Carl Gustafs wont cut it. Wolfred stood up before talking again. We are moving out. The person who was talking to Wolfred earlier looked up. Where are we going? Cant stay on open ground when tanks are coming. We are going to a better position. The Soanes instructed us not to move though. Miller laughed. He remembered that this guy was new. We are mercenaries, we dont have to follow orders. We are getting paid to kill and defeat the enemy and thats our objective. If the orders given dont help us accomplish what we are being paid for, then we dont need to heed them. More than an hour later The first elven tank appeared from the horizon. It slowly got close and closer. Even more elven tanks appeared from out of the horizon. Like test these babies out. Fire! A TOW missile slid out of a TOW launcher. An hour earlier 100,000 dollars a pop. Didnt put much of a dent to the gold we got from the Soanes. Though these things are still expensive. We only got two of them launchers so we have to use them well. Should have the range to take out them tanks. You literally seem to be pulling these weapons out of thin air. Why dont I know that we bought these. What can I say, I love surprises. Miller sighed, he was getting a bit tired of his commanders recent shenanigans. Where did you even get this? Was this approved? I can understand the Carl Gustaf getting through but TOW missile launchers? Dont tell me you got these off some sort of black market. Had some connections. When you are in the mercenary business, it''s important to have them. Back to the present. The forwardmost Guard tank exploded. <<>> Another Guard tank went up in flames. Wolfred laughed while looking down his binoculars. Ha! Look at them cook. They still havent seen us. Pretty sure they are expecting some sort of massive anti-tank gun. Keep up the fire. I only see 10 of them. Now theyre spreading out. Well, that wont help much against guided missiles. A TOW missile slammed into another one of the elf tanks. It went up in flames as the tank lurched forward before stopping. Diamond Wolves Interlude Part 2 RonTheBlackCat Ok, so I will end the Diamond Wolves Interlude here. I promised to do only one chapter and have maybe um gone a little overboard. There will be a Part 3 but that''s a couple of weeks into the future. We are going back to the main story next week. Chapter 59! Reminder: One side''s left is the other side''s right. Vice versa. 0937 April 15th, 2020 CE 0448 Sun 15th, 2020 CE Kingdom of Albea, Soane Continent <<>> At once, the Guards stopped their advance and started backing up at full speed. Another one blew up as a TOW slammed into its turret. One of the TOW operators laughed. Look at them go! They havent even fired yet and they are running. Then, the guns on all of the Guards flashed. A shell impacted close to their position and exploded. Another one was way off target. A couple flew right over them. The force from the overhead shells was easily felt by the mercenaries below. Everyone turned their heads to look at the operator who said that. ... I will I will shut up. Miller watched as the elf tanks backed further and further away. They are out of range now. We got six of them, thats what I would call a job well down. Okay, boys. Time to pack up. We are moving. Wolfred dusted off his cargo pants as he got up. He watched as his men picked up the TOW launcher. Careful with them. If any of you break it, its coming out of your paycheck. I mean it seriously this time. And it aint cheap. They walked back to the Humvees and trucks that had been parked further back. Miller caught up to Wolfred. Where should we go? Somewhere close by but not too close would be sensible. We are gonna keep ambushing them until they give up and go back home. A person came running up to them. Commander, theres a knight on a horse coming in our way. Wolfred nodded. Stay on guard. Wolfred shouted towards the incoming horseman. Stop! Identify yourself! The horseman stopped and reigned his horse in. A messenger under the orders of Lord Commander Darkhorn! I have an important report to make to Commander Wolfred! You are speaking to him right now. The horseman got off his horse, walked to him, and saluted. Sir, multiple elven tanks have overrun positions of the Ninth Division and Fifteenth Division. Lord Commander has ordered your units retreat. You are in a dangerous position and under threat of encirclement. In addition, he has commanded your unit to reposition to help the Fifth Division; they are currently engaging enemy infantry. Scouts have also reported that elven tanks are approaching their position. Got it. But what about the elven tanks that came through here? The messenger was alarmed. Elven tanks came through? Well, no, we beat them back. 10 of them came and we destroyed 6 of them. The messenger blinked at Wolfred in surprise. You destroyed 6 of them? Yeah. ...uhh I I will report this um where did you exactly destroy them? Can I take a look to confirm? Not too far from here. Wolfred pointed towards the back. Go over that hill and there should be a clearing with their destroyed tanks. Thank you. The knight saluted and rode off Wolfred turned towards his men. Okay, boys, change of plans we are skedaddling. Seems like our friends in the Fifth Division need our help. Elven Headquarters, Subican Kingdom Field Marshal Ianna looked at the battle report in surprise. Our flanking force was defeated? Only four out of the ten Guards survived. Some sort of anti-tank weapon is blocking the way. So the hands of those slimy Americans have even reached here. The field marshal spat out those words in disgust. The adjunct continued his report. Other than that setback, all other positions are not facing any difficulties. Categorize this as a small American unit that has come to support the Kingdoms here. We will have to find a way to deal with it. Kingdom of Albea, Soane Continent The knight slowly trotted his horse up to the wreckages of the elf tanks. He stopped his horse and came down. He touched the twisted metal of one of the tanks. ... they actually killed 6. Thirty minutes later The sounds of gunfire echoed in the sky. <<>> One of the humvees got out of the line of vehicles and moved up from the sides of the road. <<>> The line of humvees and trucks quickly whirred to life. Flametail had her back to a mound. I now see why they wanted us to use these guns. The Fifth Division was holding extremely well against the attacking elven infantry. The AK-47s easily tore through the elves lines. However, the elves were still returning fire. If they had been using swords against the elves, they wouldnt have stood a chance. Just then, she heard noises and looked up to see the Diamond Wolves vehicles heading towards her divisions position. They are using assault rifles! The elven infantry had been completely caught off guard when the beastmen started using guns. Their formation had been designed to counter the fast sword charges of the beastmen. This meant that they were bunched up together in multiple groups. They had been quickly gunned down when the beastmen opened fire. As the Diamond Wolves arrived at the battle, they were greeted with a bizarre scene. Beastmen from a fantasy world donning medieval era armor and firing modern weaponry. Fighting Nazi Elves who had WW2 weaponry. It seemed like a real-life mash of Civilization VI and Total War: Warhammer II. The doors of the humvees were slammed open as men jumped off of the back of the trucks that followed. They immediately set up positions in order to fire upon the elves. Wolfred popped up from the mound and fired his Ak-47. Besides him, beastmen and his members were also firing. An occasional shot from the pinned down elves would come but it usually missed. As the forest was not really that dense, it didnt provide much cover for the elves. The gunbattle raged for a while before the elves gave up and retreated. Flametail came up to greet Wolfred. Surprised to see you here. Got orders from your commander to assist you. There are tanks coming your way speak of the devil A rumbling noise came from the forest. Wolfred turned towards his men. Get the Carl Gustafs! Elven tanks are coming. They will be close to us this time. The first tank appeared a few minutes later. Wolfred shouted to the beastmen. Keep clear of the back of the anti-tank weapon! The Carl Gustaf operator then also shouted. Backblast! A massive puff of fire came out from the back and a round flew out and hit the first elf tank. The tank stopped and exploded. <<>> The group of remaining nine magipanzers instantly stopped their advance forwards. The magipanzer in the lead had been destroyed. The commander of the magipanzers made a quick decision. <<>> The five Carl Gustaf operators looked around. I dont see any more movement Was it only one tank? Wolfred got his binoculars out. There is trees blocking the way but I dont see anything. Stay on alert. I dont think there was only one tank. The one that just fired, reload, they could try to rush us so be prepared. A shout rang out. Tanks coming in from the left and right! They are trying to flank us! Tanks simultaneously came out of the forest from the left and right. Dirt was scattered into the sky as the elf tanks opened fire and hit the ground. The sound of machine-gun fire began. Fire! Backblast! It wasnt long before the firing died down. Suffering some light casualties, the Diamond Wolves had successfully beaten back the Elven armored assault. Elven Headquarters, Subican Kingdom Sir, we have broken through at the left flank but we failed to break through the right. The plan wont work under these circumstances. What do we do? Field Marshal Ianna hit the table with his fist. Dammit. This had ruined his entire plan. He wanted to encircle them and crush their center but that wont work now that only the right fell. He thought it over for a while. We will keep a defensive posture on our right and center. Tell the units on the left flank to continue their advance as planned. Divert the 3rd Guard Magipanzer Company, the 19th Infantry Company, and the 36th Infantry Company all to the left flank. They will continue the push deeper into enemy territory. Right flank of the Soane lines They had had some success while battling the elven infantry but it was short-lived as elven tanks soon showed up. The beastmen were unable to place their sticky bombs on the elven tanks as they were being heavily protected by their infantry. Commander Gladwine looked around at his dying men. He didnt want to give the order but understood that the battle was lost. Retreat! Soane Headquarters, Kingdom of Albea Report! The right flank has fallen! Lord Commander Darkhorn showed no emotion at those words. Internally, he cursed at the fact that the elves decided to start an offensive when he did. Left flank of the Soane lines Before long, the Fifth Division and the Diamond Wolves also received word of it. After a messenger gave them the current situation, new orders were issued. Lord Commander has ordered your unit to begin an assault. Your job is to make the elves have to pull units away from our right flank. Wolfred turned to Miller. Hm. I have a better idea. We are splitting into two units. Your unit takes the TOW launchers. We will be taking the Carl Gustafs. You are to set up a defensive position and halt the elven advance. Im gonna attack as ordered to. Miller thought it over and nodded Will do. The messenger looked quizzaciously as Miller moved towards the vehicles and gathered his men. Um, sir? What are you doing? Wolfred explained to the messenger. The messenger immediately protested. This is against orders! Hm? Its not against orders since you never specifically stated that my whole group has to attack. There was also no specific order preventing me from sending units to help the right flank. All I have to do is to attack the elves from this flank which is what Im doing albeit with a smaller force. The messenger hesitated. But He started to speak and trailed off since he didnt know how to respond. Wolfred nodded. Time is off the essence, we will be setting off. We will advance with you. Wolfred nodded at Flametails offer. He understood that with the Diamond Wolves split in half, it would have been difficult to advance by themselves. Thirty minutes later Wolfred drove his humvee through the sparsely wooded forest. With him were a bunch of other humvees and trucks. Up ahead were the Fifth Division and the Diamond Wolves that had the Carl Gustafs. They had been advancing for a good while. Wolfred got on his radio. <<>> Dalton Rodriguez was the one commanding the Carl Gustaf unit. <<>> A few minutes later There were sounds of explosions up ahead. <<>> Nearly an hour later Rodriguez came through the radio again. <<>> Honey, they are just overreacting. This isnt some Independence Day movie. Aliens arent coming to obliterate us with a massive laser. Look Im pretty sure the President is coming on to tell everybody to calm down. <<>> 1823 April 14th, 2020 CE (Washington DC Time) White House First engagement should occur within the next 12 hours, Mr. President. President Hayes nodded. Hows the fleet that''s going to clear the way for D-Day II? It was decided to call the operation to invade the Elven homeland, D-Day II because it truly fit the situation. It also shed a good light on it. The purpose was to emphasize that this was a war to defeat a country with a similar ideology to the Nazis. Should be approaching soon. The operation has been set to commence about two weeks from now. Good. Good. What about the current ground situation in the Magus Imperium? Hows our land forces? Everything should be completely secured now. We do have a problem with the prisoners though. Hm? Theres too much for us to handle. Fifty thousand. President Hayes'' demeanor changed at that number and whistled. Any solution? I was just about to ask you about this. We are thinking of handing most of them over to the Magusians. They seem well experienced at handling large numbers of prisoners taking into account their massive wars with the Mach. They also seem quite willing to take them. Hayes knew that handing the elves over to the Magus would end pretty badly for the elves but not doing so would have caused problems in the future. And besides, he didnt really care for the elves. They werent even human so there weren''t any pesky rules of war that applied to them. Of course, he still wanted most of the rules of war to be followed in order to maintain a good public opinion. I suppose that''s fine. Any news from the Green Berets we inserted? Nothing new since the last time I briefed you on them. They should either have arrived or gotten close to arriving in the Elven capital. Ocean between the Soane Continent and Magus Imperium A large American fleet was sailing straight towards the Elven homeland. Seaman James Murray was talking to his friend, Seaman Zach Stevens again. Why arent we turning around then? Wont get there in time. And besides, I dont think a bunch of outdated ships are gonna do much. 0350 April 15th, 2020 CE (Washington DC Time) 0455 Sun 15th, 2020 CE (Elven Nation Time) Afavalin, Elven Nation Two elves walked into the hotel. Welcome! What are you boys here for? How much is the cost for a months stay for both of us? A month you say hm let me calculate that. Give me a few seconds. The receptionist got out a piece of paper and did some calculations. That would be about one Gold and ten Silvers for a one-month stay. Okay, thank you. One of the elves fished out 1 Gold and 10 Silver notes and placed them on the counter. We have breakfast every morning. If you have any problems, come down to this desk and we will gladly fix it. The elves got into the room and shut the door behind them. They quickly took their ears off. Phew, finally, these fake elf ears get very uncomfortable very fast. The other elf got out their radio. He spoke into it in a low voice. <<>> They each had a full load of Harpoon missiles. From the 44 aircraft, 176 Harpoons were fired. They broke formation and began their return to the USS John C. Stennis. Washington D.C. All missiles have been launched. President Hayes leaned back on his chair as he watched the screen that broadcasted the positions of the Elven fleet, the US fleet, and the Super Hornet squadrons. We are going to need to procure a lot of new missiles or we are going to have a massive shortage soon. A few minutes later Elven Fleet The sound of explosions echoed. Admiral Vaynore grimly opened his eyes and looked at the metal ceiling of his room. So it has begun. A massive explosion occurred on the bottom left side of a small aircraft carrier as a Harpoon missile struck it. Smoke billowed out before a massive explosion seemingly ruptured the aircraft carrier. The Harpoon had struck its magazine compartments that had been filled with bombs and torpedoes. Another Harpoon hit right on the bow of a massive battleship. It caused much less damage but there was a gaping hole where the Harpoon hit. The Elven fleet did not stop advancing as one missile after another hit. Smoke billowed out of the superstructure of a cruiser where the missile hit. A destroyer, ripped in two by the explosion of a Harpoon hitting it, started slowly descending into its watery grave. Its surviving elves jumping overboard. More and more ships were hit with each passing second. The night was lit with explosions and the fires coming from the ships. S-101 Dive! Dive! Dive! The sound of explosions reverberated in the submarine. They were more willing to risk the threat of the torpedo attacking them than be obliterated by air attacks. The NN Victory has been sunk! The NN Zumlar is taking on water! The crew says that they can keep it afloat. There was a minor magazine explosion on the NN Ilyana! Crews are working to take out the fire. The S-29 is gone! Reports of the damage came flooding in. In the end, 25 destroyers, 2 submarines, 1 light aircraft carrier, and 3 cruisers were sunk. Much more ships were damaged to varying degrees. Admiral Vaynore viewed the damage from the bridge of his ship. Black smoke billowed into the sky as ships engulfed in fire sunk. Elves waved their arms and floated around the sinking wreckage. Rescue them as quickly as possible. We dont have time to idle. Understood. Before the officer could leave. Admiral Vaynore stopped and turned around. Wait. Dont get me wrong. We are saving all of them. NO ONE will be left behind. We just need to do it fast. Even amidst all this destruction by and without them knowing, they were still a bit lucky. Not all Harpoon missiles reached their targets. Some of them just missed by chance while others accidentally targeted the submarines. Most of the submarines dived away just as the Harpoons were about to hit. Washington D.C. President Hayes stared at the screen as reports came in that the missiles had hit. The Elven Fleet showed no change in direction. They are just recklessly charging us at this point. Although reports say that they have suffered high damage from the Harpoon attacks, the Elven fleet seemed to show no signs of retreating or even a change of tactics. Albeit with fewer ships, the elves continued steaming forward. Cralson nodded. They are probably on a suicide mission. It''s almost as if their commander gave up already. We are preparing for the second strike. Their ships should be moving into the missile range of our ships. They are getting awfully close to Hawaii. We have multiple Air National Guard fighter squadrons on standby there. They are ready to take to the air at a moments notice. Why werent they launched already to attack the Elven fleet? Most of the aircraft there are better suited to be or are just air superiority fighters. Some of them could be used for anti-ship purposes but we will only do that under dire circumstances." 0753 April 15th, 2020 CE 0153 April 15th, 2020 CE Elven Fleet Inside the officers meeting room. The officers of the NN Conqueror gathered. Our scout planes have been out searching for the enemy fleet but we havent found them yet. Admiral, shouldnt we try to redirect our course? We will be destroyed before we even reach our target! Admiral Vaynore shook his head Even if we did, we would still suffer the same amount of casualties. The Americans can reach us even if we split up into groups." Cant we employ the strategy we had used in our last battle? We were the ones defending while the Americans were the ones attacking. Now it''s the opposite. Is there anything we can do, Admiral? Vaynore pondered for a bit. Although he had already given up, his subordinates hadn''t. At this moment, he decided to accompany them all the way. We will send the submarines ahead. But what about the torpedo that attacked yesterday?" Our submarines have submerged and have yet to be attacked. I have no clear idea on how American weaponry really works but I believe that the Americans will attack when they can. The submarines should be safe for now. A few minutes later Everyone left the room after the strategy meeting concluded. Vaynore sighed. Surrender was unthinkable to quite a lot of the officers. Especially the younger ones. Vaynore expected a full mutiny if he dared to entertain the idea of surrender. US Fleet The Super Hornets started taking off once again. This time, Harpoon missiles were being launched by the ships besides the USS John C. Stennis. White smoke trailed behind each missile as they headed for the sky. The trails of white smoke filled the sky as they curved towards their target. Missiles were being fired from Arleigh Burke destroyers, Ticonderoga cruisers, and Zumwalt destroyers. Washington D.C. A report on a different situation came from Cralson. Seems like the Green Berets have found quite a few important locations. Cralson placed down a satellite map of Afvalin on the table. Marked in red xs were important civil and military buildings. They will all be targets in our first strike. President Hayes rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn. He had woken up early so he could be there when the naval battle started. Now it has started to affect him. I guess its a good time to call a meeting soon on finalizing the plans for D-Day II. 0834 April 15th, 2020 CE 0234 April 15th, 2020 CE Elven Fleet More explosions started occurring. The NN Zumlar had already taken 5 hits to various places. Although with a limp, it was still moving. Even his own ship, the NN Conqueror was hit. It was by sheer luck that the explosion didnt reach any of the bombs or torpedoes that were stored. 1 battleship, 1 fleet carrier, 1 light carrier, 3 cruisers, and 20 destroyers were destroyed in this second attack. A magiradio operator came up to Admiral Vaynore One of the scout planes has a report! We havent found their fleet but we have found land! This could be their home base or maybe even their homeland. Admiral Vaynore nodded. Launch all aircraft to attack! We cant let this opportunity slip away. One of the officers protested the decision. But Admiral, we will leave our ships without air cover. The enemy can attack us without even getting near us, our air cover is useless. We will just worthlessly waste our aircraft as the carriers get sunk one by one. Admiral Vaynore was being extremely stern in his reply. The officer who had objected hung his head down. Understood, Admiral. All aircraft carriers of the fleet prepared to launch their aircraft. Pilots got into their planes. Bombs and torpedoes were quickly loaded on. On one of the light carriers, the NN Undefeatable, the propellers of their planes spun to life as the ground crew prepared them. Lights from the aircraft carrier lit the runway. A flag was waved and the blocks on the wheels of the aircraft were removed. The flag was then waved down and the first plane went down the runway. As the aircraft continued to launch. Three explosions rocked the NN Zumlar. Report! The battleship NN Zumlar has been struck by an enemy attack again and is heavily damaged! The sounds of explosions reverberated in Vaynores room. Launch all aircraft as quickly as possible! Speed it up! Although it took some time, it wasnt long before 147 Ea-192N (naval-modified) fighters, 162 Ra-189N (naval-modified) dive bombers, and 135 Ra-1 torpedo bombers took to the sky in groups of large v formations. Deep in the sea, the submarines started passing the surface ships. Although they were told to advance ahead, the submarines werent that fast so they were still right next to the Elven main fleet. Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Honolulu, Hawaii The alarms on the base rang loud and clear. Men quickly scattered onto the runway. 14 F-22 Raptors of the 199th Fighter Squadron, part of the Hawaii Air National Guard, taxied down the runway. 70 F-16A/Bs and F-16C/Ds of the 152nd Fighter Wing from the Arizona Air National Guard followed right behind. F-15C/Ds of the 114th Fighter Squadron from the Oregon Air National Guard were idling on the parking spaces. Aircraft from many other fighter squadrons were also there. Although they were intended only for emergency use only against the Elven ships, when the Navy couldnt keep the elves at bay, they were now being launched in response to the approaching elven aircraft. Elven Air Fleet The designated commander of the assemblage of planes got onto his magiradio. <<>> 0845 April 15th, 2020 CE 0245 April 15th, 2020 CE 199th Fighter Squadron <<>> The bay doors in the center belly of the F-22 Raptors opened up. The other 13 F-22 Raptors followed suit. Chapter 61 – Defense of Hawaii Part 2 RonTheBlackCat Sorry ''bout the dealy. I got too much work to do yesterday and I didn ''t have time to upload. I''mcurrently tired as fuck do don''t mind me... I really wanna go to bed. 0845 April 15th, 2020 CE (Washington DC Time) 0245 April 15th, 2020 CE (Hawaii Time) Air over the Pacific From the open bay doors in the center belly of each F-22 Raptor, an AIM-120 AMRAAM dropped down. <<>> All the AMRAAMs propelled forwards at once with a blaze coming from each of their tails. Only a few seconds later, another AMRAAM dropped from each of the F-22s. It wasnt long before each Raptor expanded all 6 of their AMRAAMs in their central bay. 84 AMRAAMs streaked through the sky. A few minutes later, the 70 F-16s followed suit. Their AMRAAMS launched forwards from where they were situated under the wings of the F-16s. One after another, the missiles shot forward with a blaze. Each F-16 fired off their 4 AMRAAMs. A total of 280 AMRAAMs were fired from the F-16s. <<>> Because of the similarities between the description of the human weapon used to shoot down planes and the arrows fired from a bow and arrow, it was decided to dub them Arrows. The once organized fleet of propeller aircraft started crisscrossing. They went in every direction in order to try to confuse the missiles. Ra-189N dive bombers and Ra-1 torpedo bombers started diving. The Ea-192N fighters started turning left or right. The pilot of an Ra-189N, Siveril Ralocan, put the nose of his plane down and followed the other Ra-189Ns. His back seat gunner, Camus Heirora, panickedly shouted as he watched one of Arrows curve towards them. Siveril! Its coming right for us! Change directions! The plane started banking left. Nonetheless, the Arrow quickly gained on them. Its right in my fa The Arrow smashed right through the tail and exploded. It didnt take long before more of the Arrows started hitting. Its turning towards me! I cant shake it off! It keeps follo Protect the dive bombers! In the sky, Elven aircraft burst into fireballs. Pieces of metal floated down from the orange, fiery explosions. Confused by the mass of crisscrossing planes, one or two of the Arrows went off course. All others hit. The remaining Elven aircraft got back into a few v formations. The commander of the air fleet had barely survived. <<>> Lieutenant Colonel Alex Jackson, commander of the 199th Fighter Squadron, looked at his radar. <<>> A few minutes later <<>> What seemed to be silver arrowheads were approaching them at incredible speeds. With their remaining targets getting closer and closer, each F-22 opened up both of their side-bay doors. <<>> AIM-9 Sidewinders flew out from the open side bays. <<>> The Raptors flew towards the elven aircraft that were breaking formation. Sidewinders started hitting. An Ea-192N that was banking left exploded as a Sidewinder hit it. Its main body disappeared in the explosion and the wings fell out of the sky. All 28 Sidewinders found their targets. Only 12 Ea-192Ns, 23 Ra-189Ns, and 19 Ra-1s remained. <<>> It wasnt clear who was giving orders since their commanders had already died but the Elven pilots followed what was said. The Ea-192Ns started turning around. The 20mm M61A2 Vulcan rotary cannon on one of the F-22s opened up. It shredded one of the elven fighters. The F-22 banked left and avoided the debris from the destroyed fighter. The Ea-192Ns tried to get behind the F-22s but they were just too fast. An F-22 quickly turned and got behind one of the Ea-192Ns. Theres a hum The elf pilot stopped as he watched his fellow aircraft get hit and go down. His face was flushed with anger, Death to these humans! He banked his aircraft left and turned towards the F-22. Then he shook violently. His plane dipped towards the ground. He frantically looked back at his tail which was completely gone He was so blinded by anger that he failed to notice an F-22 strafing his tail while flying by. The Ra-189Ns and Ra-1s tried to get out of the dogfight but the F-22s quickly started pursuing and shooting them down. The remaining Ea-192Ns tried to get the F-22s off of them. A lone Ra-189N flew in the sky. It had miraculously gotten out of the dogfight. The pilot, Ninleyn Padan, got on his magiradio. <<>> A heavy silence fell for a few seconds. <<>> Ninleyn turned to his back seat gunner, Ivasaar Lorayra. Anything behind us? Seems like they didnt follow us. Ninleyn turned back to the front. Good we might have slippe Ivasaar, facing the back of the aircraft, was scanning the sky. He noticed that Ninleyn stopped his sentence midway. Whats the matter? Ninleyn didnt reply. The Ivassar looked behind him and towards Ninleyn. Hey, Ni <<>> The 70 F-16s flew closer and closer to the single Ra-189N. <<>> The lead F-16 opened fire with a single Sidewinder. Ninelyn gritted his teeth and started turning his plane towards the sea. It was too late. The Sidewinder struck the canopy of his aircraft. It exploded and evaporated him and Ivasaar. <<>> The F-22 Raptors turned and started to head back. 0911 April 15th, 2020 CE (Washington DC Time) 0311 April 15th, 2020 CE (Hawaii Time) Elven Fleet We lost all aircraft. A silence fell over the meeting room. A few of the elven naval officers were surprised. Admiral Vaynore stood there quietly and expressionless. He had long expected the end result. After a moment of silence, he started giving out commands. Tell all remaining aircraft carriers to toss all torpedoes, bombs, and aviation fuel overboard. We dont have any use for them anymore. They are now just unneeded explosives that could set off if another Arrow hit us. Washington D.C. All enemy aircraft have been shot out of the sky. No loss from combat. A few of the people in the Situation Room started clapping. President Hayes interrupted it. Save your clapping for later. It ain''t over till the fat lady sings. Give me a quick sitrep on the naval engagement. The Navy is still firing their missiles and they are preparing another wave of F-18s. The missiles are having some trouble destroying what we believe to be the battleships. They have taken multiple hits and havent sunk. However, we should be able to damage them enough to become inoperable. US Fleet We are detecting multiple submarines approaching. The 11 MH-60R Seahawk on the USS John C. Stennis has been rotating in order to keep a constant eye for submarines. After a few hours of rotations, they have finally found the Elven submarine fleet. RUM-139 VL-ASROC missiles launched from the Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Elven Fleet The elven naval officer had grim faces as the damage report was given. The NN Zumlar has been hit 9 times. The crew has done emergency repairs but it is still limping. The NN Valqen has been hit 5 times. It has sustained some damage but nothing too detrimental. The NN Ulahice and NN Cairan have been hit 4 times. Not much damage reported for either of them. Our ship has been hit 2 times and miraculously is still afloat. It probably wont last another hit. A few cruisers and carriers have also already been hit but suffered nothing major. We have lost, so far, a total of a battleship, 2 fleet carriers, 3 light carriers, 56 destroyers, 7 cruisers, and 10 submarines. The elven naval officers, already shocked by the news of the loss of their entire air fleet, were further disheartened by the report. It was nearly half of their fleet. Admiral Vaynore didnt seem fazed by the report. We will continue heading for the area where the enemy fleet could be. Admiral, we will be destroyed before we even get there. Our air wing has been destroyed. We have lost almost half of our destroyers, cruisers, and aircraft carriers. We need a new strategy. Should we try to split apart so they cant all target us at one location? Admiral Vaynore shook his head. Even if we run now, the humans can still destroy us. The chances of us surviving were dismal from the start. The only path we have now is forward. Skies over the Pacific An RUM-139 streaked through the sky. Then, a Mk 54 torpedo dropped into the ocean from it. Multiple other RUM-139s were right behind it. S-89 The Captain of the S-89 had been constantly checking in on his UMWE operator. He was scared of a repetition of the last attack. Anything on the UMWE? All is clear. And then something shook the submarine. What''s that? A few minutes later, the magiradio officer shouted. Report! S-23 has been hit! Another explosion shook the submarine. We are under attack! Even more explosions started. Elven Fleet On the deck of the NN Conquereor, torpedoes and bombs were pushed over and splashed into the sea. Report! Our submarines are under attack by torpedoes. Are they the same ones we experienced before? No sir, they explode on contact like normal torpedoes. S-89 The S-89 shook violently as something hit and exploded on it. We are taking on water! We are taking on water! Surface! Surface! Surface! We cant, sir! We are taking on too much water! Slowly, the S-89 sunk into the bottom of the sea 0845 April 15th, 2020 CE 0722 Sun 15th, 2020 CE Near the Magus Imperium ASROC missiles were also being fired from the Arleigh Burkes and Ticonderogas that were guarding the 5 aircraft carriers. The elves seem to be increasing their submarine patrols. They probably know where we are at now. Im surprised that theres not a bigger response. I think they sent most of their forces to attack the West Coast. The American fleet near the Magus Imperium was preparing to start the air campaign against the elven homeland. Chapter 62 – Defense of Hawaii Part 3 RonTheBlackCat 1032 April 15th, 2020 CE (Washington DC Time) 0432 April 15th, 2020 CE (Hawaii Time) Somewhere in the Pacific Sitting on his bed, Admiral Vaynore looked at the grey metal ceiling of his room. He had returned to his quarters for a short break. He could still hear the shouts of his ships crew. He whispered to himself as if in a daze. ... I already quit, my Leader. A few more minutes passed before he stopped looking at the wall and got up. He opened the door and walked into the brig. His officers immediately came up to him. Admiral, the NN Zumlar has been sunk after 17 hits! We have to find a way to attack them. Admiral, what do we do? With the ever-diminishing number of ships, the battleships have placed themselves on the sides of the flagship, the NN Conqueror, in order to prevent it from being hit more. Suddenly, Admiral Vaynore had the air knocked out of him as his chest and face slammed into the floor. He got up on all fours, winced, and started coughing. Soon, sounds of panic started around him. We have been hit! We have been hit! Theres damage to the bottom right compartments of the ship! What happened to the battleships? Werent they supposed to protect us? The NN Valqen has been sunk! Admiral, are you alright? With the help of one of his officers, Admiral Vaynore staggered up on his feet while still coughing. Im fine After composing himself, Admiral Vaynore walked to the windows of the brig as his officers scrambled to assess the damage. Slowly turning his head from the left to the right, he took in the carnage. The light from the moon and the ship fires provided a clear view. Smoke billowed out from the battleships as multiple fires raged. A cruiser was slowly sinking into the sea. Its front end was halfway in the ocean and its back jutted out in the air. Some elves jumped into the ocean from the sinking cruiser while others on it boarded lifeboats. Tiredness washed over him. Admiral Vaynore took off his naval cap and placed it on the ledge of the window. He sighed. Im stepping down from my position as Admiral. There is nothing I can do at this point. Just let an old elf die quietly. Vaynore turned and left. The officers watched with wide eyes as the Admiral walked out of the door. Pandemonium ensued. What do we do? Whos in command now? Vice Admiral, what do we do? The Vice-Admiral looked around at all the panicked officers. Calm down! We still have a fleet to command. Then a report from one of the crew further shocked them. Report! The repair crews are unable to fix the damage caused by the last hit. We are taking on water! There was a heavy and panicked knocking on Vaynores door. Vaynore felt exasperated. He had already told them that he quit. He wondered if they were just like Tarron. Admiral! The ship is sinking! The damage from the last hit was too large to be contained. I told you already. Im not the admiral anymore. But Ad sir, the ship is sinking. We have to evacuate. ... I may not be the Admiral anymore but I was only a few minutes ago. I will go down with my ship. Washington D.C. President Hayes looked somewhat nervously at the screen. They have set their course directly for Hawaii. We must stop them here and now. Secretary of Defense Cralson rubbed his chin. We are trying. We have destroyed a majority of their fleet but their battleships are still there. Under current calculations, it should be impossible for them to reach Hawaii before being completely wiped out. Still, their battleships are quite a nuisance. With enough Harpoon missiles, they will sink eventually. President Hayes closed his eyes and nodded as if coming to a decision. We will need to make some changes soon. Somewhere in the Pacific Seaman Joe Bennington watched as missile after missile was launched. In his entire time of service so far, he had never seen so many launches happening without stopping. Streaks of smoke that blanketed the night sky were illuminated every time a missile was launched. The blazing fire of a missile coming out of its tube in the middle of the night always seemed beautiful to him. 1032 April 15th, 2020 CE (Washington DC Time) 0516 April 15th, 2020 CE (Hawaii Time) Oceans near the Magus Imperium Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Halbert Johnson, in command of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, viewed the deck of his aircraft carrier. Admiral, the entire surrounding area should be clear. Nothing is coming up on the radar. Good. Make sure it stays that way. They had already engaged multiple submarine and destroyer patrols. The fleet sent to clear the seas near the Magus Imperium had suffered little to no damage whilst inflicting heavy casualties on the elves. Seems like the amphibious assault ships are arriving. Magus Imperium Issac sat down on a rock near the beach. His squadmates were loitering around. In front of them, bulldozers and diggers were piling up dirt. Engineers were setting up the buildings and infrastructure. In their haste to retreat from the Magus Imperium, the elves were unable to destroy everything. The most important structure of all to the Americans were the ports that the elves had been building in order to transport in new supplies and units. The Army Corps of Engineers was now busy modernizing the ports that the elves had left behind. In preparation for D-Day II, it was vital that these ports were able to accommodate a large bulk of the US Army and Navy. Most of the US Army was already located in the Magus Imperium so it made much more sense to use these ports to invade the elfs homeland. 1052 April 15th, 2020 CE (Washington DC Time) 0452 April 15th, 2020 CE (Hawaii Time) Somewhere in the Pacific The NN Conqueror started listing to the side. Objects in Vaynores room started sliding forward. Shouts of his last remaining sailors could still be heard as they ran to board the lifeboats. A knock sounded on his door. Vaynore felt annoyed. What? Sir, are you sure you dont want to evacuate? I have already said so. I will go down with my ship. There was a short silence before the elf behind the door spoke. Understood, sir. The room had been tilted to an extreme degree but Vaynore could still sit on his bed. Water started seeping in through the bottom of the door. He sighed. I should have stayed home. The survivors on the lifeboats watched as the NN Conqueror was slowly enveloped by water. On the NN Ulahice, the survivors climbed out of their lifeboats and were helped onto the ship. The officers of the NN Conqueror also gathered there since it seemed the safest. The NN Ulahice was the least damaged out of all the remaining battleships. It had only been hit 6 times. In the brig, the officers bickered about their next step. I propose that we retreat! Retreating will bring shame on the Navy! Then what do you want us to do? Just continue straight to our deaths? We are doing nothing more than walking off a cliff at this point! I already brought up the idea. We should split our forces so the humans cant target us all. Being in one blob is making us easy prey. I have no idea why the Admiral didnt allow us to do this. A few minutes later The remaining ships in the Elven fleet all started moving apart. Ships in the center continued forward while the ones on the right and left flanks turned towards their direction. The missiles being fired were almost all ASROC missiles. A seemingly endless stream of elven submarines was showing up on radar. Los Angeles-class submarines had also gotten within range and were firing their torpedoes. S-57 The 7th Submarine Flotilla has faced heavy casualties. S-22 has been sunk! S-156 has been sunk! S-74 has been sunk! S-80 has bee An endless report of losses came streaming in. The Captain bit his finger. He screamed in frustration. Have we found their ships yet?! No, Captain. We are being shot out like literal fishes in a barrel. We have no idea where they are firing from but they seem to know perfectly where we are. Somewhere in the Pacific The officers of the NN Conqueror looked at each other hostilely. They are still sinking us! Splitting up didnt do anything to help. In fact, it might have worsened it. The three groups have been moving farther and farther apart from each other but the attacks still continued on all of them. Then, another explosion rocked the NN Ulahice. Objects started sliding to the right. Although it started off minor, there now was an obvious listing to the right. Abandon ship! We are sinking! One of the officers slammed his fist on the table. A few minutes later ...we dont have any ships left. On the lifeboat, the elves watched as the NN Ulahice quickly toppled to the right. Its tower splashed into the ocean and the keel could be seen out of the water. Before long, it was completely upside down and quickly submerging. Now only debris and the wide expanse of the ocean surrounded them. Not a single warship was in sight. Washington D.C. All enemy surface vessels have been destroyed. There are still a few remaining groups of submarines but I can almost confidently declare that we have prevented the elves from reaching Hawaii or doing any major damage. President Hayes started clapping. In a flash, everyone was cheering and applauding in the Situation Room. A bit premature but it has been a stressful few hours for everyone. S-57 A magiradio operator who had been trying to contact the surface fleet for the last 20 minutes looked back at his Captain. We have lost all contact with the main fleet. They are lost arent they The Captain knew that the surface fleet had been taking a beating. He didnt expect them to be destroyed so fast. Give me the magiradio. I need to directly talk with the Commanders of the other submarines. The magiradio operator handed it over to him. <<>> The S-57 was the flagship submarine of the entire submarine fleet that was present. The surviving Commanders or Lieutenant Commanders of the various submarine flotillas that made up the fleet acknowledged Captain Olaroris. <<>> None of the commanders opposed. Having already lost a total of around 50 submarines, each surviving flotilla had already been heavily battered. Chapter 63 – Mop Up RonTheBlackCat 1138 April 15th, 2020 CE (Washington DC Time) 0538 April 15th, 2020 CE (Hawaii Time) Hawaii Their submarine fleet is turning around! Cheers rose in the brig of the USS John C. Stennis. Rear Admiral Kirkland smiled. Mission accomplished everyone. Although the elves were retreating. ASROC missiles were still being fired. The streaks of smoke from the missiles could clearly be seen as the day started to brighten. The tip of the sun was barely peaking out of the horizon. Somewhere in the Pacific Multiple RHIBs sped across the ocean. Large wakes formed behind them. An MH-60S flew over them and headed towards the same direction. A few more MH-60Ss followed behind. The lead helicopter came upon a bunch of wooden lifeboats. Whilst keeping a distance, they hovered. <<>> The announcer stopped for a second. Realizing his mistake, he coughed before continuing. <<>> One of the MH-60S started lowering itself at one of the lifeboats. An elf on the lifeboat stuck his hand out towards the sea. A small blob of water rose out of the sea and the elf swung his hand at the MH-60S. The blob of water flew towards the helicopter and stuck it. It shook a bit from the impact. Aw fuck! They are shooting at us! Abort! Abort! More and more elves stuck their hands out at the water. The MH-60S quickly started pulling back up as more blobs of water started hitting it. The water was hitting so hard that it sounded like the ricochets of bullets. After returning back to its original position, the firing stopped <<>> The elves in the lifeboat cheered as the MH-60S backed away. The elves started hollering at the helicopters. Get out of here you inferiors! <<>> A few of the elves tried to hit the helicopters with their water bullets but they lacked the range to do so. They soon stopped firing and started rowing their lifeboats Washington D.C. Cralson gave a suggestion after learning that the elves were firing at the rescue helicopters. If they continue resisting we will probably need to shoot them. President Hayes raised an eyebrow. Wont that be considered a war crime? War crimes arent important in this world anymore. Im pretty sure the word war crimes doesnt even exist in this world. We will probably face no international backlash for what we do. Okaybut what I meant was public perception. We should be asking whether or not the American people will be outraged by our actions. And I dont believe the public would approve. It will definitely seem like we are shooting defenseless people in the waters. The media will have a hay day with that. Its domestic backlash thats important now. But Mr.President, we cant just leave them there! We cant let them land in Hawaii. They are clearly rowing towards Hawaii. They will endanger people if they land. The President couldnt respond. He sat there in deep thought. Tell the commanding officer to threaten them but dont actually shoot them. Lets see what happens. Somewhere in the Pacific Only the sound of the blades could be heard as the MH-60Ss hovered in the sky. <<>> The lead MH-60S lowered itself once again and once again, the elves shot at it. Washington D.C. The Rear Admiral is asking whether or not he has permission to shoot. He doesn''t sound too happy about us telling him what to do. Well Im the commander in chief and its my reputation on the line here. Are the RHIBs armed? The personnel on them are. The RHIBs themselves arent. Then instruct the MH-60 to fire warning shots at the elves. If the RHIBs are shot at when they arrive, then they can return fire with intent to kill. Somewhere in the Pacific The .50 cal on the open side door of the MH-60S opened up in a few quick bursts. Small amounts of water sprouted up close to the elven boats as the bullets hit the water. <<>> The RHIBs quickly came into view. <<>> They are opening fire! The sailors on the RHIBs ducked as water bullets whizzed over them. The single .50 cals on the side door of the MH-60Ss opened up at the boats. The sailors on the RHIBs started firing their rifles at the elves. Water sprouted up as .50 caliber bullets hit the ocean. Holes were punctured through the elves wooden boats. The elves tried to shoot back with water bullets but were being quickly cut down. The sheer volume of fire terrified the elves. Some of the lifeboats started taking on water and sinking. A couple of elves jumped into the water in a desperate attempt to survive. Many dead elves floated on the ocean but there were still many boats afloat. The elves who survived started raising their hands in surrender. A few minutes later Get them on the boat. Dont let your guards down. Their literal hands are weapons. Dont hesitate to shoot if you see them lift their arms. An RHIB got up next to one of the elf lifeboats. One by one, the sailors dragged the elves onto the RHIB. Every time an elf was helped on, at least four M4 rifles were aimed at them. The sailors had their fingers on the trigger and were ready to shoot at a moment''s notice. The other RHIBs and MH-60Ss all had their guns trained on the other lifeboats. Each of the elves hands was zip-tied as hard as possible to prevent movement. Petty Officer (3rd Class) Dan Hailey did a quick sweep of the elves being rescued. We captured quite a few of them alive. I thought they were all suicidal. 1120 April 15th, 2020 CE 0540 Sun 15th 196 AE Afvalin, Elven Nation Our assault fleet has failed and the Americans have pushed us out of the seas near the Magus Imperium. Tarron slammed his fist on his table. It seems like the Navy can no longer protect us. How is the defense construction going? Tarrons advisor stayed silent for a second. My Leader, wouldnt you like to know about the condition of the assault fleet? Tarron raised his eyebrows. There are still survivors? Yes, about 30 or so submarines. They are being pursued and attacked. The Navy is trying to save them. Tarron waved him off. Thats the Navys concern now, not mine. I want to know how our defense situation is. Well, we have hidden hundreds of tanks, dug thousands of miles of trench line, placed down thousands of mines, and antiaircraft guns blanket the land. We also have large weapon stocks ready to be handed out. What about the PAMs? Im sorry, what? Tarron looked a bit irritated The portable anti-magipanzers? The advisor flipped through the papers on his clipboard. Those are uhhhh under mass production and will be available soon. 1153 April 15th, 2020 CE (Washington DC Time) 0553 April 15th, 2020 CE (Hawaii Time) Somewhere in the Pacific An MH-60R flew swiftly through the sky. It was on a search and destroy mission. Near the left side door of the helicopter, there are multiple evenly spaced holes. A sonobuoy popped out from one of these holes and splashed into the ocean. <<>> On each side of the very small stub wings of the helicopter, there was an Mk54 lightweight torpedo. It launched both. The other MH-60Rs were speeding to the location. 1210 April 15th, 2020 CE 0605 Sun 15th 196 AE Somewhere in the Magus Imperium An American engineer got out of the M4 Sherman. Congratulations on your first M4 Sherman. Seeing that you followed the manual to a tee, there should be no issues with it. Emperor Arstant nodded with an impressed look on his face. Compared to the clanky-looking and riveted Magusian magitanks, the M4 Shermans had much smoother armor. Good! Very good! I like it. I do recommend you test fire it though. Im an engineer so I dont actually know if you made the ammunition correctly. The gun is made correctly though. Hasta Air Base, Magus Imperium Get the papers loaded! Originally a small airbase with a bumpy runway that accommodated the wyverns of the Magus, the airbase had gotten larger and larger ever since the arrival of the Americans. There was now even a brown stone sign right outside of the base with the white words U.S. Air Force and Hasta Air Base right under it. It was located next to the small town of Hasta and right behind the massive Zaitha Jungle that cuts through the Magus Imperium. Large containers of papers were stacked into the C-130. The sound of more and more planes landing could be easily heard. Various units have already been stationed at the Hasta Air Base. 1302 April 15th, 2020 CE (Washington DC Time) Washington D.C. President Haye had a busy day ahead of him. He had spent most of the morning keeping a close eye on the situation near Hawaii. Now with that over, he still had to deal with the affairs of the rest of the day. He sat down in his chair in the Oval Office and rifled through his Presidential Daily Brief. A knock came on the door. Come in Cralson. What did you want to talk about? On his way to return to his office, Cralson had urgently told him that he had a very important message. Well, it seems like the Magus wants to cooperate with us in the invasion. I dont see why not. They have been quite useful in the past and we just gave them Shermans and P-51 Mustangs. I really dont think we need to do a joint offensive. It would just be too big of a headache and I dont really trust the capabilities of the Magus. Well, we have the technological capabilities while the Magus has the numerical one. There have been circumstances where the Magus have been quite helpful with their numbers. Chapter 64 – Around the World RonTheBlackCat Me: "Why do I have 124 comments?" Me: *sigh* Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0923 April 17th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. It was morning but President Haye still felt a bit worn out because of the constant reports and briefings. The Green Berets have reported that there are multiple human concentration camps scattered across the Elven Nation. We are currently poring through satellite photography in order to try and locate them. What are the chances that we will have a massacre on our hands if we start D-Day II? The military analysts have described it as too much for comfort. Then devise a plan to get them out of there. The invasion will still proceed on the same day. 0904 April 17th, 2020 CE 0732 Sun 17th 196 AE Primopolis, Magus Imperium Here are the main stipulations. You will provide your own vessels to transport your invasion force. We do not have enough to accommodate you. However, our navy will protect your transports. You will have independent control of your units but you will have to cooperate with our officers. Our officers will also have the final say on decisions. We expect humane treatment of the elves who surrender. We do not condone the killing of non-combatants. And we expect your soldiers to act civilized. More detailed information would be in the document that I have given to you. Emperor Arstant nodded as he skimmed through the document. I see. Then how will we divide up the land? The American ambassador to the Magus Imperium, Jimmy Manning, looked at the Emperor with questioning eyes. Its a small continent. We suspect that they have a lack of resources because our scientists have noticed that the compositions of their armor are not entirely made of metal. The elves seem to be trying to make up for this lack of resources by using magic. So what is your country planning to do then once you have defeated the elves? We will just occupy and install a democratic government before leaving. Are you willing to leave some land for us then? Our policy is a period of occupation while reforming their government. If you are invading with intentions of doing a land grab, then we will pull out all support. Emperor Arstant seemed to be fuming. You are just going to let them go after all they have done! My nation has suffered the most out of this invasion! I would like them to give us some land. Isnt this how it usually goes? When a nation loses a war it has to cede some of its lands to the victor. Your words are utterly ridiculous! Have you not seen what happened? The towns and cities in the northern regions of my country have been reduced to nothing! My entire navy is nearly gone. Hundreds and thousands of my soldiers and civilians have lost their lives! We understand this. However, taking their land will do you no benefit. There seems to be nothing there that you can exploit. You are allowed to calculate the damage and ask the elves for war reparations. We will see to it that they pay you. However, the US will never condone the annexation of their sovereign territory. We will also not condone any acts of revenge. Do not raze their cities and towns or start massacres. Emperor Arstant had an extremely displeased look on his face. Jimmy stood there for a bit as the Emperor thought in silence. Minutes passed by. I will give you time to consider. Jimmy started to walk out. Halfway to the door, he stops and looks back. Remember that without our help, your nation would be at their mercy of the elves right now. Do not consider this a slight. These words are just the mere truth and you know it. Jimmy opened the door and got out. 1055 April 17th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. Cralson sat down in a meeting with Haye. I will get it to you straight. I still dont like the idea that you are permitting the Magusians to come along. We already have our hands full trying to calm one shrieking baby. We dont need another baby that is liable to fall face-first onto the ground. President Haye chuckled a bit. Are you seriously describing countries as babies? Its a metaphor. I am seriously exasperated by your decision, you know. President Haye pointed at Cralson. Look Cralson. You have to see it from my point of view. You are a military leader. Im a civilian one. I know not having the Magus come with us would make the invasion much easier to plan out and execute. But we are a country that is literally alone in this world. We need to form diplomatic relationships. Sure, we have the Bem and Mach but they are just countries under our occupation. Other than that, the countries of the Soane League are quite bound to the Magus Imperium. Their opinion of us and centuries of relations with the Magus wont change with just a few mercenaries. 1100 April 17th, 2020 CE 0830 Sun 17th 196 AE Magus Imperium Their roads are complete shit. At least the Machians had actual paved roads and metal bridges. An Abrams driver got out of his tank. The tracks of his Abrams were filled with dirt and mud was smudged on all sides of the tank. Well, Command sent us through the boonies. The main paths have paved roads and metal bridges. That cant even be considered the boonies. We passed through a lot of towns. Even in the Machian forests, they actually have paved roads instead of just muddy dirt roads and metal bridges instead of rickety century-old wooden ones. What the fuck is wrong with this countrys infrastructure. Seeing that this is a magic country, I guess they didnt really embrace the Industrial Revolution. Well, their magic is still shit either way. Heard some talk about the magic hybrid engines of the Magus to be inferior to the mechanical ones that the Mach have. With the number of American vehicles moving towards the southern tip of the Magus Imperium and the undeveloped infrastructure of the Magus Imperium, a lot of issues have started to pop up. Afvalin, Elven Nation Pablo looked at his team who were gathered in his hotel room. Although we were originally going to stay here and keep surveillance until right before the airstrikes started, we have a change of plans. We got orders from the top. We need to search for human concentration camps. Especially those in heavily wooded areas. Hm, well, all the recent newspapers mention human concentration camps but not exactly where they are. Cant we go to where the slave auctions are being held and follow one of their trucks until it leads us to one? Well, that will only help us locate one. It has been confirmed that the elves have multiple concentration camps. Satellites already found and confirmed two. They are the more visible ones. There are also multiple possible ones. Satellite footage picked up trucks carrying humans into a few different forests. However, the satellites were not able to locate the exact locations of the concentration camps. Thats our job. Then what is the plan? We will split into teams of two. Six teams. Each team will be assigned to sectors of the forests to comb through. Remember dont take any actions. We are only here right now to scout them out. Understood. Yes, sir! 0224 April 18th, 2020 CE 0412 Sun 18th 196 AE Magus Imperium A kid ran out of his house and waved at the American tanks passing by. The commanders, who had their hatches open and their heads out of the tank, waved back. Mom! Mom! Look! Tanks! Arthur get back in here! The mother ran out of the house and guided her child back towards the house. She flashed a fake smile towards the Americans and quickly closed the door. Inside the house, the boy looked down at his shoes as he was scolded. They are foreigners! They arent us. Arthur. We cant trust people who arent like us. You dont know what they could do to you. Ignore them and hide. I dont want to see you running to them ever again. Do you understand? While his eyes were still looking at the ground, he quietly replied. Understood. A lot of the Magusian civilians were quite welcoming of them. They sometimes came out en masse to cheer as American troops and vehicles rolled by. Sometimes, it felt like a parade. They were very thankful for the American help against the elves. But that doesnt mean they were all like that. Some people have given them the stink eye. There were also a couple of places where the overall air felt unwelcome. This was one of the places. The inhabitants of the village had shut their doors and closed their curtains as the Americans came through. 1124 April 18th, 2020 CE Nashville, Tennessee Jack set down his groceries. He peeled open an orange and started snacking on it. He really wanted to eat an apple right now but they werent in season. A lot of fruits and vegetables werent in season during this time of the year for the US. In the old world, fruits and vegetables were in season year-round because of imports. Steps have been taken by companies to make something similar in this world but it had been disrupted by politic and the recent war. Whats even more annoying to John was the lack of a lot of products. Quite a lot of those products had Made in China stuck onto them in the old world. Companies tried to make up for this vacancy by ramping up production. However, this caused a labor shortage. Not everyone wanted to work in a factory. Some companies have already opened up factories in the Mach and Bem. Quite a lot are still waiting for permission to do so. 1144 April 18th, 2020 CE 0822 Sun 18th 196 AE Port City of Jahlean, Elven Nation In the port, civilians murmured in worry amongst themselves. Many had seen the returning military transport vessels and wanted to cheer for the returning soldiers. A crowd had formed right outside of the port. What greeted them wasnt an army filled with victory but a seemingly exhausted and demoralized one. They speculated about what had happened. Were they defeated? No way. Maybe they are just the injured coming back. That seems to make sense. 10 days later Lorsan Kelfir sat down and drank his morning tea. His eyes skimmed through the newspaper he was holding with his free hand. It detailed another glorious victory that they have had. The last of his doubts washed away as he read it. When he saw so many returning exhausted soldiers in the port, he feared that they had been defeated. Now he believes that the fear was unfounded. 15 days later Narman Temporary Air Base, Magus Imperium F-15s and F-16s were scattered across the temporary airbase. Inside a hastily erected building, men of the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment checked over their equipment. 4 MC-130 aircraft were parked right outside. Hasta Air Base, Magus Imperium B-52s taxied down the runway. B1-Bs prepared to do so as well. Chapter 65 – Operation Firestorm Part 1 RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/YNTiLYEm6BQ Firestorm - Sabaton In memory of the USS Bonhomme Richard 2306 April 18th, 2020 CE 0233 Sun 19th, 196 AE Port City of Jahlean, Elven Nation Ara looked at the ceiling in her bedroom. Being a Major General had its perks. It meant that she had her own personal room in the barracks. She thought over what had happened when she got back. The moment they had gotten off of their ships, they all were escorted away. Here, being a Major General also had its downsides. It meant that she was grilled for information for hours on end and had to recount her entire experience from beginning to end. Then she was warned that revealing anything about the defeats was treason. Of course, this also applied to everyone else as well. She sighed and got off of the bed. She muttered to herself. I wonder if they have any leaf juice left in the cafeteria. 0844 May 13th, 2020 CE 0722 Sun 43rd, 196 AE Yeallean Forest, Elven Nation In the bushes, Pablo stared at the camp through his binoculars. Fences surrounded the entire place. Elves armed with bolt action rifles walked around the perimeter. There were sniper towers placed at the corners. Although he didnt spot any, he wouldnt be surprised if there were machine-gun nests. Dennis whispered to him. This is the what? Third one we found? Yep. So far we got a total of 12 of them. Some smaller than the others. Hm. Invasion should be starting soon. Werent we supposed to monitor the situation in the capital? Saving people is much more important. We will be rendezvousing with the others soon. We got orders to take one of the smaller concentration camps once the birds have flown. Dennis nodded and grunted in acknowledgment. Pablo did one last scan of the fenced area. Lets go. Crouching low, they quietly walked back into the dense forest. Beaches of the Magus Imperium Nicks M1A1 Abrams got onto the USS Bonhomme Richard. The tank lurched forward before coming to a stop. Dammit Connolly! You nearly rammed us into the ship! Slow down. Sorry bout that. Dillian and Brian laughed. Nick sighed. Issac sat around doing particularly nothing. The construction of the temporary ports has been mostly finished. The marines were going to be the ones to clear the beach so he wasnt part of the first wave. He wondered how his wife and kids were doing back home. 2324 May 13th, 2020 CE 0242 Sun 44th, 196 AE Narman Temporary Air Base, Magus Imperium At early dawn with the sun barely up, a company-sized element of the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, around 200 men, loaded onto the 4 MC-130J Commando IIs. In other air bases, other Ranger Regiments and special force teams got onto their MC-130Js. Washington D.C. The air campaign will begin in the next hour. The Special Forces units have already taken off. President Haye stared at his water. Chief of Staff John Wills interrupted his staring contest. Mr.President? Ah, sorry. Its nearly midnight. The President rubbed his eyes and gave a sigh. 0030 May 14th, 2020 CE 0315 Sun 44th, 196 AE Esnthas Temporary Air Base One by one, an entire squadron of F-35s took off. All of them carried AGM-88G AARGM-ERs, anti-radiation missiles capable of locking onto radar signals. Southern Sector Elven Detection Station Senior Lieutenant Theodas Trismyar yawned as he walked into the detection room while sipping on his tea. Multiple elves had headphones on and were staring at screens. He looked around and found Lieutenant Folas Joyarus. Anything on the MUDs of MWEs? Nothing out of the usual. Well just tell everyone to keep a lookout. I got orders that there might be unusual activity and to report absolutely anything. Well, will do, Theodas. Theodas walked out of the room, still holding on to his drink. Even though he just woke up, he decided to go take a nap. Being in charge of the detection station meant a dead end to his military career. However, he didnt really care. Most of the time, he got to do whatever he wanted. He was just getting paid to do almost nothing. Skies over the ocean between Magus Imperium and Elven Nation <<>> The squadron of F-35s all started banking to their left to turn back. Washington DC There seems to be a slight issue. President Haye furrowed his eyebrows at those words. What happened? The anti-radiation missiles arent locking on. The elves either dont have radar or their detection technologies are different from ours. Seeing that the elves are capable of long-distance command and that we have images of what we believe to be radar, Im betting that their detection technology is different. Probably based on magic. That would explain why our jammers seemingly didnt work on affecting the elves combat capabilities. Then why werent they able to detect our stealth aircraft if they arent using radar to detect things? They probably operate under the same principle as normal radars. Some sort of energy bouncing off an object. The F-35 and F-22 are shaped and painted to lessen the amount of energy that is bounced off. On the other hand, jammers and anti-radiation missiles depend on the emissions of the radar Ok, then what should we do now? Their radar will be an issue. The old-fashioned way I guess. Drop a cluster bomb on it. We will most likely have to delay the start of the operation for about 30 minutes. 0102 May 14th, 2020 CE 0331 Sun 44th, 196 AE Esnthas Temporary Air Base, Magus Imperium This time, the squadron of F-35s carried Mk.20 Rockeye II cluster bombs. They were also accompanied by F-22s as an escort. Narman Temporary Air Base, Magus Imperium Only a few minutes after the takeoff of the F-35s and F-22s, squadrons of F-15s and F-16s took off from their runways. First Lieutenant Scott Miller got into his F-15E Strike Eagle. He looked back at his Weapon System Officer, Gerald Wallace. Ready? Gerald gave him a thumbs up. Hasta Air Base, Magus Imperium B-52s and B-1Bs took to the skies. Multiple C-130s followed right after. Affanore Human Concentration Camp, Elven Nation A guard blankly stared at the forest. His mind was wandering around. Inside a building in the camp, shouts from other elves could be heard amidst the noise of machinery What are you stopping for! An elf officer looked angrily at a human man who had a dazed look on his face and was sitting with his back on the wall. Please sir, Im too tired. Can I The elf officer pulled out his pistol from his side holster and shot him in the head. The human collapsed face first in the ground. The officer looked around at the other humans in the factory. They had all stopped their work and were staring at the commotion. Anybody who stops like this human will be shot! The officer walked away. Although the humans didn''t understand him, they understood what he meant. The elf guards inside the factory whispered to each other. Whats this? The sixth one he shot? Eh, bunch of inferiors. Cant even work like the cattle they are. In the forest, Pablo surveyed the area with his binoculars. The rest of his team sat quietly behind him. We have a few guards at the gate. I can see two sniper towers from here. Well need to neutralize all of them. Good thing that factory there is making a lot of noise. 150 miles off of the coast of the Elven Nation A massive carrier strike group that consisted of the USS Gerald R. Ford, USS Harry S. Truman, USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS Ronald Reagan, and USS Abraham Lincoln moved slowly through the ocean. Rear Admiral (Upper Half) Jacob Brown approached the commander of the entire five-carrier carrier strike group Admiral, the Air Force birds have flown. Its about time that ours did as well. Vice Admiral Angela Walters nodded at his deputys reminder. Get the Super Hornets in the air. Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Halbert Johnson watched the deck as F/A-18 Super Hornets, loaded with Harpoon missiles, launched off of the USS Abraham Lincoln. 0137 May 14th, 2020 CE 0348 Sun 44th, 196 AE Southern Sector Elven Detection Station Theodas blearily opened his eyes. Rubbing his head for a bit, he got out of bed and decided to check on his men. Scratching his head, he went up to Folas. Anything so far? Folas grunted a single word. Usual. In the air F-35s swooped down towards their target <<>> A massive system of radar towers and stations was in front of them. Southern Sector Elven Detection Station Suddenly, one of the operators popped up. Sir, we got something! That got Theodass attention as his eyes shot up. Hm? Where is it? Right on top of us. What? At that moment, multiple explosions ripped apart the station. In the air Target neutralized. RTBing. While the F-35s quickly swung around, the F-22s kept moving forward. 10 minutes later Nase Ancalen Air Base An elf mechanic, Vulmon Chaehorn, whistled as he tended to an Ea-192. In the air, a squadron of Ea-192s flew in formation. Suddenly an explosion made him stop what he was doing. Vulmon looked around fearing that someone had accidentally dropped a bomb while carrying it. Sweeping his eyes from right to left, he saw a few elves point up at the sky. He looked up just in time for another explosion to occur. This time he saw one of the flying Ea-192s burst into flames. The sirens of the airbase blared. <<>> Vulmon quickly hastened his work and started skimming through all the unchecked parts. A squadron of Ea-192s lined up on the runway and got ready. Quickly finishing, Vulmon shouted for someone to help him. He looked outside. The propellers of the Ea-192s on the runway started spinning. Hey! This one is fixed! I need some people to help me get this outside! Two elves came running towards him. Just as the first aircraft were about to take off, a few massive explosions rocked the runway. The force of the explosion knocked the two elves off the ground. The runway was completely cratered and the aircraft that had attempted to take off were turned into metal charcoal. More explosions started blanketing the airbase. Vulmon quickly dived under a table. In the sky Scott looked out of his F-15E Strike Eagles and down at the elf airbase. Dark plumes of smoke rose to the sky. His plane turned around after the strike. At many other Elven Air Bases, similar situations occur. 150 miles off of the coast of the Elven Nation From the Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from every ship capable of doing so. White streaks trailed behind each Tomahawk. Angela was watching the spectacle when Jacob came up to her. The Super Hornets are about to reach their targets. Chapter 66 – Operation Firestorm Part 2 RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 "Though I fly through the Valley of Death, I shall fear no evil. For I am at 80,000 feet and climbing!" - Sign over the entrance to the old SR-71 operating base in Kadena, Japan Sorry about the one-day delay, I had to attend a friend''s graduation party. Also, I GRADUATED. HURRAH! No more high school! 0155 May 14th, 2020 CE 0357 Sun 44th, 196 AE Port City of Ilysesari, Elven Nation At this point, the size of the National Navy could be considered pitiful. It had been reduced to barely 30% of its size since the start of the war. With their consistent failures, they have fallen out of grace with Tarron. Three battleships, an aircraft carrier, two cruisers, and eleven destroyers were still in the waters next to the port. Eight submarines were also docked. Elven sailors milled about and tended to their daily duties. Dozens of Harpoon missiles streaked through the sky towards the fleet The first missile smashed into a docked destroyer. The destroyer exploded as its ammunition cooked off. The pier next to it was completely destroyed and the blast wave from the explosions knocked many elves further in the port off of their feet. The naval base alarm blared. Another Harpoon missile struck a battleship but did minimal damage. Elves rushed towards the circular sandbag positions that contained AA thauguns. Orders started being thrown around by multiple officers. Man the AA guns! Load them! Move! Spinning the adjusting wheels, the 88 mm AA thauguns and the 20 mm AA quadthauguns were quickly turned towards the sea where the arrows were seemingly coming from. Black puffs of magi-flak filled all areas of the sky. They had no idea what they were shooting at since they couldnt find what was attacking them but they knew they were being attacked. The Harpoons streaked through the skies, unaffected by the magi-flak. Explosions occurred on ships after ships. Inside the large building, not that far from the port, Admiral Ylyndar Kelrie listened to his adjutant who had just rushed in. Admiral. We are under attack. The human arrows are destroying our ships. How bad is it? We are taking heavy casualties and the anti-aircraft thauguns are ineffective. A large explosion shook the building. Tiny bits of the ceiling fell to the floor. Ylyndar wrinkled his nose. What was that? His adjutant looked around. Um, not sure, sir. The last thing Ylyndar saw was his adjutant being flung towards him as the building behind the adjutant seemingly disintegrated in a bright flash. Tomahawk cruise missiles flew down onto various parts of the Ilysesari Naval Base. Explosions after explosions rocked the area. Elven gunner officers started pointing above. They are coming from above! Adjust the guns! Fire! Fire! Fire! Some of the AA thauguns spun upwards. Suddenly everything in the AA emplacement was flung forward as a Tomahawk struck nearby. Some elves stepped out of buildings and onto the road while others peered out from their windows. Afar, they saw smoke rising from where the naval base was. Multiple explosions could also be heard. Concerned murmuring started amongst them. Oh my Goddess. Whats happening? Port City of Jahlean, Elven Nation Ara ran out of the barrack building. Multiple explosions had jolted her awake. She came onto the street that had a good view of the naval base. What the Plumes of black smoke rose to the sky from there. 0202 May 14th, 2020 CE 0401 Sun 44th, 196 AE Afvalin, Elven Nation Anfalen, the head of the Intelligence Department, was in Tarrons office talking with him. Spying on the humans will be impossible. Any elves we send cant just wear hoods the entire time. It would look too suspicious. Cant you find a way to make our ears seem less pointy? Anfalen vigorously shook his head. Even if we cut off a portion of the ear, it wont look correct. An urgent knock came on the door and someone entered without permission. Annoyed at being interrupted, Tarron looked around Anfalen. My Leader, this is of utmost importance, you need to evacuate now! The inferiors have launched an attack! Tarrons eyes grew wide. He got his coat and walked into the hallway of his office. Other elves were running around in a panic. Some were carrying important documents or objects while others just rushed for the exit. Anfalen and the messenger followed Tarron out into the hallway. Tarron turned to the messenger. Give me a report right now. What is happening? Tarron started walking towards the exit. We have reports coming in of explosions occurring at the port of Ilysesari. We have lost contact with multiple of our southern air bases but some of them have sent distress messages. Did the detection stations not detect anything? They were the first things we lost contact with. We tried contacting them around 30 minutes ago and they didnt respond. We thought some communication systems there might have broken. Tarron frowned. You fool! Didnt I give explicit orders to inform me of any unusual activities? Although a bit fazed at Tarrons anger, the messenger stood his ground. My Leader, that was only if the detection station reported any unusual activities. Losing contact is unusual enough. They exited the building and walked towards the road. Multiple cars were lined up on that road. Tarron walked close to one of the cars with the messenger and Anfalen quickly following. Then a loud boom came from behind them. A blast wave pushed Tarron and the others onto the ground. Ugh Tarron groaned at the pain from hitting the ground very hard. Still on the ground, he lifted his head and looked behind him. The messenger and Anfalen, who were behind him, were also lying on the ground. With groans coming from them, they were clearly alive. The building he had just exited was now just rubble. Black smoke rose. If he had been warned a few minutes later, he would have died in there. Elves rushed up to him and lifted him up by the shoulders. My Leader, we have to go Hearing a loud noise coming from the sky, Tarron and all the other elves looked up. An extremely fast object flew by overhead. Nase Ancalen Air Base The rubble shifted. Vulmon coughed as he hauled himself out of the wreckage of the hangar he was in. Covered in dust, Vulmon looked around. The runway had been cratered at multiple places. Strewn bits of aircraft laid everywhere. Most buildings were rubble just like the hangar he was in. A couple of minutes later Jasathas Mountains Colonel Hamon Yelric sipped his tea as he studied the blueprints of the Ea-196. An aide opened the door without knocking and ran into the office. Colonel! We have reports from Command that the capital is under attack. We have received orders to repel the enemy. Hamon looked up in a jolt. They were in one of the few buildings that were concealed by the forest of the mountain. A runway ran from inside the mountain to the outside. From a few buildings, elves ran into the mountain. Move them out! Move them out! Ea-196s Hexeri were pushed out of the mountain opening. The Ea-196 was an aircraft with a weird tube under each wing and no propellers. They were quickly pushed onto the runways by the ground crews and their pilots climbed aboard them. A loud whirring sound seemed to come from the tubes as the first one started going down the runway at incredible acceleration. One by one, 87 Ea-196s took off. Washington D.C. Inside the Situation Room, Cralson was giving a briefing to President Haye. We are not exactly sure how their communication systems work so we dont have any airstrike targets pertaining to that. So we have absolutely no capabilities when it comes to destroying their communications? Sadly, yes. Magic is being a major obstacle here. Well, however, compared to the magic in fantasy stories, it doesnt seem that capable. Afvalin, Elven Nation A convoy of cars sped through the streets of the Elven capital. In one of the cars, Tarron looked out the window. In the distance, arrow-like objects flew at seemingly immeasurable speeds. A large explosion rocked where it had just passed. Tarron stared at that area. Thats the High Command Office how do these humans know? Anfalen, who was also in the car with him, answered. The humans could have inserted spies among us. How would they have gotten here then? We are on an island far, far away from any human settlement. It would have been obvious too since their ears are not pointy. I dont know, my Leader. Tarron put his hand to his mouth and sighed through his nose. This is bad. He looked at the front of the car where the messenger and the driver were sitting. Inform those who are still alive that we are beginning Operation Continued Arrow. The messenger nodded. Also tell the Great Magus to flood the city as a last resort. In a field in the Elven Nation We got reports of something occurring in the capital. Information is a bit fuzzy though. We are having trouble reaching the High Command Office. From his entrenched Knight, Colonel Ranaeril Krisbanise looked down at his communication officer. Around him were other magipanzers, anti-magipanzer thauguns, and trenches with infantry in them. Thats concerning. If you receive any orders, tell me immediately. Hearing a weird sound from the sky, Ranaeril looked up. Then an explosion blasted his magipanzer to the side. More and more explosions occurred. Within a few minutes, their entire defensive position was blasted to charred remains. 0213 May 14th, 2020 CE 0406 Sun 44th, 196 AE In the skies over the Elven Nation Captain Damon Smith shouted at his men in the MC-130. We are green light! Jump! Go! Go! Go! One by one his men jumped out of the door of the plane. With the last of his men off, Damon jumped out too. The air rushed up towards him as he fell. Below, he could see the parachutes of all the men who had already jumped and the men of the three other MC-130s. Even further below was a large pasture of green. He quickly opened up his parachute and started floating down. Before long he rolled onto the ground. Getting himself out from under the parachute and packing it up, he quickly got to the others. Lets go! In the air over the Elven Nation Larrel Araqen sat in the cockpit of his Ea-196. He had a stern and determined face. He thought back to the last time he had talked with his friend, Elator. He remembered how excited he was to tell Elator that he was going to pilot this new aircraft. Turns out, that was the last time he was ever going to talk with him. Larrel only recently learned that the invasion of the Empire has been going disastrously. Most civilians werent informed and it was treasonous for military personnel to spread this information so Larrel was sure that Elators family didnt know that Elator perished. Now he was going to face the humans that killed his friends. Larrel placed his trust in his new mysterious non-propeller aircraft. A squadron of F-16s went deeper and deeper into Elven airspace. Although most of the Elven air bases in the northern part of the country have been confirmed to be destroyed, they had to be vigilant for any surprises. <<>> AIM-120 AMRAAMS flew forward from the F-16s wings. Chapter 67 – Operation Firestorm Part 3 RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 "Out here. Due process is a bullet" - John Wayne in the movie "The Green Berets" Happy Memorial Day! https://youtu.be/DWrMeBR8W-c 0221 May 14th, 2020 CE 0410 Sun 44th, 196 AE In the air over the Elven Nation The first wave of eighteen AMRAAMS streaked through the sky. It was quickly followed by other waves as the eighteen F-16s fired them off one by one. <<>> The other Ea-196 pilots of the 1st Special Fighter Wing acknowledged Colonel Yelric over the radio. One of the Elven jet pilots noticed something streaking towards them. <<>> Each Ea-196 started shifting to move in a different direction. Some dived to gain more speed while others banked to the sides. The Arrows curved and followed. To the shock of the elves, the arrows got closer and closer. <<>> The first Arrow hit one of the diving Ea-196 which burst into flames. <<>> The second wave of Arrows appeared as soon as the first wave found all of their targets. The elves completely broke order and focused on avoiding the Arrows. Larrel constantly looked back. He cursed as the Arrow behind him got closer and closer. Come on! Come on! Faster! He looked behind once more just as the Arrow touched the tip of his plane and a bright flash was the last thing he ever saw. 0246 May 14th, 2020 CE 0423 Sun 44th, 196 AE Affanore Human Concentration Camp, Elven Nation Pablo nodded to his men as he got off the radio. The birds have flown. Take the shots. Although they were in the middle of the forest with foliage surrounding them, a few hundred feet in front was a massive clearing. There were multiple buildings behind a chain-link fence and gate. Whilst everyone else in the team was crouched, their two weapons sergeants were lying on the ground. Frederick aimed down the scope of his M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle at one of the sniper towers. The other weapons sergeant, Douglas Brown, also had his M2010 aimed at the other one. All others in the team had their M4 rifles trained on the front gate. Each sniper tower had one elf in them. Two elves stood at the gate. The two elves at the gate were wearing black boots, grey trousers, a grey tunic, and leaf colored steel helmet. They were carrying bolt action rifles. The weapons sergeants slowly adjusted their sniper rifles. Two loud pops echoed through the air. An elven guard looked around. He tapped the shoulder of the other guard beside him. Hm? Did you hear something? I heard a very loud pop. The other guard shrugged. Probably the machinery. I swear it came from the forest. We should go investigate. One of the humans could have escaped. We will be in trouble if we move out of our positions. I guess I will go alert the commander to what I hea Just as he was about to finish his sentence, multiple bullets went through him. A full fusillade of pops could be heard. The other guard did not even have time to process what had just happened in front of him as he was gunned down at nearly the same time. Ceasefire. Pablo scanned the entire length of the fence and at the buildings behind the fences. Clear. Lets go. They stood up and sprinted out of the bushes. Running across the flat meadows, it didnt take long for them to get to the gate. They found out that the gate was just a fence that had to be opened by pulling them apart. Pablo and Dennis pulled it open, and they walked into the camp. There was a lone brick building situated just to their right. It was placed right behind the fence and beside the entrance. There was a sign on the left of its door that said in elven, Guard House. Just to the left of the guard house was a machine gun emplacement surrounded by sandbags that faced into the camp. A few yards further in front of them were a straight row of brick colored rectangular buildings. There was a road that led from the gate to the rectangular buildings. There also seemed to be a second row somewhat hidden by the first row. Behind the rows of rectangular buildings was a large factory-like structure. We are breaching and clearing each building. Dont shoot any humans. Make sure they have pointy ears. They lined up next to the door of the guard house. Inside the guard house, three guards were talking amongst themselves. The guard house was just a windowless one room building with two bunk beds on the left and right wall and a desk in the center of the beds on the wall opposite of the door. Two of the guards were sitting on the beds while one was standing in the middle. The elf standing seemed worried. We are closer to the forest. Maybe something happened outside. I dont see why a few pops would be concerning. No one seems to be coming so it should be fine. It was a fusillade of them. Im just going out to check. He turned around and walked to the door. Just as he was about to open it, the door was opened from the other side and something was thrown in. The metal tube clinked on the ground. The guards stared at it for a bit before realizing what it was. Hm grenade! Then a loud flash blinded and deafened them. Pablo burst in and shot the elf that was at the door. Dennis got the one on the right bottom bed while Fredrick got the one on the left bottom bed. They looked around the guard house. Clear. After clearing the guard house, Green Berets stealthily moved to the intersection where the entrance road connected with the road that ran between the two rows of one-floor rectangular buildings. They avoided the road and opted to instead walk on the grass. The rectangular buildings hid them from any elves further in the camp. Looking into the windows of the left and right buildings on the entrance road, they saw it was just rows and rows of bunk beds. There was no one inside. The Green Beret team split into two groups and went to the walls of each building. Dennis looked over the corner to scan the left side of the road that ran between the two rows of rectangular buildings while Pablo looked over the corner to scan the right side. The sound of factory equipment was getting louder as they got closer. Dennis raised up his hand to show that his side had 5 elves while Pablo also showed that his side also had 5. The elves present were spread out and all seemed to be on patrol. They walked and glanced around randomly. Using hand signals again, Pablo gave some simple commands. Robert, the warrant officer, nodded. Pablo held up 3 of his fingers and started counting down. The moment his last finger was down, both groups popped out and started shooting. The elves were taken by complete surprise since the camp was located deep inside the Elven Nation. At first, the ones that hadn''t been shot stared in shock at the Green Berets. By the time they started fumbling for their guns, half of them were already dead. We are under attack! Humans! Hel The shouting elf was quickly shot in the face. An elf raised his magirifle and took a shot. The round went way off. He keeled over as a shot went through his stomach. Another shot made a hole in his head. Pablo swept his eyes across the road. The dead elves were strewn around and their blood pooled on the road. The road seems clear. We need to chec.. A bullet whizzed past him. He felt its force graze his cheek. Fuck! Five elves had just appeared from behind one of the buildings. They seemed to have run here from the factorys direction. Pablo and his team quickly raised their M4s and shot back. Armed with only bolt action rifles and submachine guns, the elves were simply outgunned by the M4 assault rifles. A couple of panicked shots came from the ones with submachine guns. Soon, the 12 men team of the Green Berets quickly filled the elves of the five elf squad with lead. Pablo beckoned Robert over. Robert, you and your team watch our backs, cover the road. We need to look through each building. Got it. Robert nodded and turned to his group. You heard the commander. Pablo turned to his group of six men. We have ten buildings here, look through the windows of each one. Quickly, we made enough sound to alert anybody nearby A few minutes later Pablo went to Robert and nodded. All clear. I think these are where they house the prisoners. The signs said Human Quarters They are completely empty so Im guessing the people are all in that factory. Not sure why there hasnt been more of a response from the elves but I will take it. Running towards the factory, a rather large two-floor building appeared to the right. It had been hidden by the Human Quarters. A grey military truck sat nearby on the road. There were also multiple wooden crates sitting next to the truck. They slowed their pace and aimed their guns at the door of the building. A few others kept an eye on the second floor. Two elves sprinted out of the building and left the door open. They had their rifles slung on their backs. One of the elves seemed to have forgotten his helmet while the other didnt have any pants on. With eyes widening, they skidded to a stop at the sight of the Green Berets. Humans are out The Green Berets quickly dispatched them. Their M4 rifles let loose a series of pops. A hand from inside of the building quickly shot out for the doorknob and slammed the door shut. A barrage of bullets came down on the Green Berets from the second floor. They quickly hid behind the trucks and wooden crates. Although it seemed to be all rifle shots, the number of bullets from that single barrage was a lot. Pablo guessed that there were no less than 10 to 15 elves in there. That didnt account for those on the first floor. Looking over the crate he was hiding behind, Pablo studied the building. What is this building? Pablo then noticed the sign next to the door. Barracks. He shouted to his men. Seems like there''s a lot of them and they are well hunkered down. Miles, think you can sneak over and get a couple C4 onto that sidewall? We will distract them No, scratch that. Miles, how much C4 do you think you can stuff in that backpack of yours? Miles, the engineering sergeant, quizzically looked at Pablo. Wont that alert everyone in this place? We already lost our stealth advantage a long time ago. Pablo and the others started laying down suppressing fire on the building as Miles quickly ran to it. They sporadically popped off a few shots from their M4s. Staying in the blind spots of the windows, Miles stuck multiple C4 onto each wall of the barracks. In a few minutes, he ran over under the cover of the rest of the teams fire. Ready? Miles nodded at Pablos question. Pablo smiled. Okay, everyone back up a bit further. Lets see some fireworks. Pablo clicked the C4 detonator. A blastwave washed over Pablo as the barracks literally exploded in a fiery blast. Dust and smoke obscured their view for a bit before clearing. As the dust settled, only rubble remained where the barrack was. Bits of body parts could be seen in the rubble. Well, thats dealt with. Lets move on to the factory. Multiple bullets whizzed around them. The Green Berets quickly got down onto the ground. Fuck! Im hit! Chapter 68 – Operation Firestorm Part 4 RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/XZlcqvprbU0 - Ballad of the Green Berets 0322 May 14th, 2020 CE 0441 Sun 44th, 196 AE Affanore Human Concentration Camp, Elven Nation My leg! Douglas shouted in pain. He laid on the ground like the others but clutched his leg. Pablo and the others quickly got into cover. Douglas dragged himself behind a crate and sat. Frederick looked at where the shots came from. The elves are coming out of the fucking factory! A few elves came out of the doors of the factory and got into cover behind the crates and vehicles there. Flashes came from their bolt action rifles. Pablo looked over at Douglas. Jeremy! Get on Douglas! Everyone else, covering fire! Pablo wished that they had carried the Mk46 machine gun with them on this mission. Because they were infiltrating the elves and their bags had been made to look like the ones that an average elf carried, they couldnt bring along any of their larger or bulkier weapons. Every member of the team had an M4 rifle and a varying amount of food and water in their bags. They also all had M9 Berettas hidden on them. From there, what they carried differed. The weapons sergeants had found a way to stuff their sniper rifles into their bags. The medical sergeants had their medical supplies. The communication sergeants had communication equipment. The engineering sergeants had the C4, wire cutters, and a few other random things. Everyone else on the team had grenades and flashbangs. This wasnt everything that they carried but it was a few of the most space-consuming. As Jeremy, the medical sergeant, crouch ran to Douglas, Pablo focused his fire on one of the elves. A few bullets whizzed over the Green Berets but the elves were being suppressed by the sheer volume of fire that was being poured down on them. Then multiple bullets peppered the crate where Pablo was hiding. They got a machine gun to our right! Robert yelled to the others. The machine gun started spraying their entire position. Before long though, it fell quiet. Sporadic rifle fire started coming from the elves but without their machine gun, the rest of the Green Berets could keep the elves mostly suppressed. Pablo peeked out of cover and looked down the scope towards where the machine-gun fire was. Although the elf was ducked behind cover while reloading his machine gun, Pablo could see their helmet bobbing up and down. He kept his gun aimed at the area. The elf popped out with his fully reloaded machine gun and set it down. Pablo fired. Watching the elf slump over, Pablo yelled over the gunfire. The machine gunner is down! Dennis looked out of his cover as if he was debating to do something. In a snap, he made up his mind. Keep me covered. Im moving up! Dennis ran out of cover and started sprinting to a tree. It was quite a distance and a few of the elves noticed. They tried to take Dennis out but they were completely pinned down. Dennis lobbed a grenade at the elves position. Inside the factory, an elf ran into a room that looked like an office. The elf officer, Lieutenant Alok Rolana, was at a desk and writing something on paper. The officer looked up at the panicked soldier. Lieutenant! The factory is under attack by armed human soldiers! Calm down. Alert the elves in the barracks. The soldier looked down at his feet and started stammering. They they are all dead. Alok raised his right eyebrow. What do you mean they are all dead? There were at least thirty elves in there! The humans blew up the entire barrack. Alok took a deep breath. He wanted to scream and question how the humans were able to blow up that big of a barrack but he understood that he was in a bad situation. How many elves do we have left? About ten. A few of them are already engaging the humans outside. What do we do sir? Call a retreat. Get me out of here. We will use the back door. What do we do about the humans? Alok paused as an explosion came from outside. Leave them. The remaining elves panickedly shouted after Denniss grenade killed a few of them. They started running back into the factory. Pablo took a shot and nailed an elf, who was standing up to run, in the head. One of the elves seemingly dropped his rifle as he ran back inside. Pablo turned to Jeremy who was still tending to Douglas. Hows Douglas? I patched his leg up and gave him some morphine. He should be fine. He can still walk. Pablo looked over Jeremys shoulder and at Douglas. Douglas, your leg holding up? Douglas nodded. Yeah. Im fine. A little pain like this is nothing. Jeremy stared at Pablos shoulder. Pablo looked at Jeremy questionably. What? Pablo, you are bleeding from the right shoulder. Aw shit, said Pablo as he touched his right shoulder. Ouch. I didnt notice it at all. Let me patch that up for you. Quickly the Green Berets moved up to the factory. They got beside the door that the elves all ran into. Dennis was in the lead and looked back to the others. I dont know how many of them are in there but theres at least three from the survivors. Dennis opened the door and threw in a flashbang. Hearing it go off, the team rushed in. For the Nation! An elf lunged at Dennis with a knife. Avoiding the knife, Dennis grabbed the elf by the neck and then went around him. He got both of his arms under the elves armpit. Dennis locked his hands on the elfs neck. The elf struggled intensely to get out of Denniss hold and kicked around. The elf started wildly shooting tiny fireballs. The fireballs fizzled out in a very short distance but it would be dangerous to Dennis if the elf somehow got his hand around. Dennis ground his teeth. What the fuck! Shoot him! Blood splattered over Denniss face as a bullet from Pablos M9 Beretta entered the side of the elfs head. Letting go, the elf crumpled to the floor, blood flowing out of his brain. Dennis wiped his face. Motherfucker. Moving further into the factory, the Green Berets scanned around. They saw a couple of figures crouching behind some machinery. Dennis approached them with his finger on the trigger. The four men looked at Dennis in fear. Noticing that they didnt have pointy ears, Dennis relaxed and held his hand up to the others. Dont fire, they are all humans. Dennis studied the men. They all seemed to be in their mid-20s. Remembering the Imperial Language, Dennis spoke to them. Dont worry. Im human. See Dennis pointed to his ears. The men, noticing this, all blinked in surprise. Joy soon came across their faces. One of them seemingly threw themselves onto the ground as if in prayer. Another one started crying. Thank Angels! We are saved! Hearing the happy shouts, more and more figures started showing themselves. Some came out of closet doors and others stood up from the machinery and tables they were hiding behind. They were all human men and seemingly varied from as young as 16 to as old as around 40. Dennis looked around. Okay. Listen up. You are all humans right? Albeit all looking nervous, the people in the room nodded. Do any of you know where the elves went? The men looked at each other. One of them responded. I dont know. They seemingly disappeared after the gunfire and explosion. We thought they were killing everyone so we decided to hide. Dennis nodded. Thank you. You are safe buddy. We will get all of you guys out of here. Who are you people? One of the men cautiously inquired. We are American Special Forces. We have been tasked to liberate you guys, said Dennis. Please refrain from any more questions. We have to get you guys outta here. The elves could come back with reinforcements. We will be linking up with a bigger force. 0220 May 14th, 2020 CE 0410 Sun 44th, 196 AE Three miles from the Orva Caelora Human Concentration Camp, Elven Nation Damon and the rest of Baker Company of the 75th Ranger Regiment had quickly collected the extra supplies that the MC-130 had also parachuted out. They were now traveling hastily across the green pastures. 2nd Platoon was sent further ahead for reconnaissance. About an hour later <<>> Damon got off of his radio. He turned to First Lieutenant Jeb Baker, the executive officer of Baker Company. Seems like they accidentally dropped us off about a mile from our supposed drop-off place. Ghost Two just found where the concentration camp was. It''s further than it''s supposed to be. Orva Caelora Human Concentration Camp, Elven Nation Senior Lieutenant Kaylin Gendan saluted as she entered Captain Elion Wynries office. Captain. We have received reports that a human invasion has begun. Start rounding the humans up, said Elion, frowning at the news. He got out and flipped through a book. Protocol indicates that we need to start exterminating the prisoners. Five minutes later Damon was lying on the grass and observing the concentration camp when a gunshot rang out from the camps direction. Fuck! They are executing the prisoners. Damon got on his radio. <<>> Damon turned to the others. The gate is quite sturdy. There are multiple guards and a guard post right outside. Get the Carl Gustav and blow that entrance and post up. Two soldiers aimed down the scope of their Carl Gustavs. Backblast area clear. Firing. One HEDP (High Explosive Dual Purpose) round streaked towards the guard post while the other HEDP round streaked towards the gate. A bright orange explosion knocked the guards off their feet and made a hole in the gate while another explosion shaved off half of the guard post. <<>> The 50 men from the 4th Platoon swiftly moved toward the gate. Elves showed up from the clearing dust. <<>> Mk48 machine guns opened up on the elves at the blown-up gate. One of the snipers looked down the scope of his M2010. He led on the head of an elf running towards the gate. He pressed the trigger and the gun jerked. Moving his gun, he found another target. He fired again. Damon watched as the men of 4th Platoon took cover behind the debris and objects at the gate. They started pouring down fire. <<>> Disorganized squads of elves tried to respond. Taking cover behind crates, buildings, and vehicles, the elves opened up with machine gun and rifle fire. The 4th Platoon responded in kind but with a higher volume of firepower. They started pushing into the camp. Soon the rest of Baker Company joined in. <<>> While supervising the extermination in an open field in the camp, Elion heard the explosions and gunshots at the gate. He went to find Kaylin. Lieutenant. Report! Whats happening at the front gate? Kaylin was talking to the Company Sergeant Major but directed her attention to Elion. Human infantry have begun an assault. They have taken over the gate. Get the armored cars out and deal with them. Chapter 69 – Operation Firestorm Part 5 RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0343 May 14th, 2020 CE 0451 Sun 44th, 196 AE Orva Caelora Human Concentration Camp, Elven Nation The firefight continued at the front gate as squads of elves tried to push the humans out. Although the elves held a chokepoint and the camp garrison had nearly equal numbers to the human company attacking them, their unpreparedness caused them to be outnumbered ten to one at the front gate. Pull back! Pull back! Pull back! The elves started rushing out of their position. Crouching behind the debris, barrels, and creates, the Rangers continued pouring fire from their M4 rifles and Mk48 machine guns. A few elves fell face forward as they ran. A couple slumped to the side after being shot by the snipers. The firefight died down as the elves retreated further into the camp. Behind them, the 4th Platoon was clearing the buildings. Multiple shots came out of a one-floor square building. One of the soldiers from the 4th Platoon chucked a grenade into the window. An explosion rocked the ground. Multiple Rangers burst in, weapons at the ready. Three elves laid on the floor, killed by the grenade. <<<"Ghost Actual. This is Ghost Four, we have secured the surrounding buildings.>>> <<<"Copy that. Area in front of the front gate is secure.>>> While advancing forward, opposition from the elves came back faster than expected. Elven machine guns opened up and a barrage of fire came down on the Rangers. The retreating elves seemed to have done a 180 and started rushing back towards them. It was soon clear why. Two grey armored cars moved down the road towards them. An elven officer raised his pistol in the air and waved it forwards. Attack! Attack! Crush the inferiors! In the storm of the lead laid down by the Rangers, two HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) rounds from the Carl Gustavs struck the two armored cars. The cars exploded and veered off the road. Although the Rangers were still shooting, the elves seemed to be in a state of shock. Once again, the elves started retreating. This time, they were much more panicked. Pull back! Pull back! Elion couldnt believe his ears. They took out both armored cars?! Kaylin nodded. They have some sort of weapon with the ability to destroy armor. Tell all units to regroup near the center of the camp. Sporadic firefights occurred as the Rangers advanced further into the camp. Groups of elves hid in the buildings and behind cover. The Rangers had taken some casualties but the elves were clearly losing. Moreover, in the midst of the chaotic battle, some of the prisoners were able to get to the Rangers. <<<"This is Ghost Sierra. We spotted a large force of elves blocking the road in front of you. Permission to fire? Hold fire. Thanks for the tip, Ghost Sierra.>>> While the 4th Platoon swept the area behind them for any hiding elves and helped the prisoners, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd moved up. One of the platoon leaders hid behind a wall. He jabbed his thumb behind him as he talked to his grenadiers. They should be right over there. Hiding behind those crates and overturned tables. Got it, sir. Multiple 40mm grenades shot out of the M203 grenade launchers mounted under the grenadiers M4. The elves position was smashed open by the barrage of high explosive grenades. A few of the elves survived but were heavily disoriented. The Rangers opened up. A few minutes later They have easily broken through the first two lines of defense. Elion crossed his arms at the news. He stood still outside of his office as his soldiers rounded up the humans that had not escaped or killed and got ready to execute them. He turned to look towards where the human soldiers were supposedly coming from. Suddenly a bullet whizzed past him and hit the ground. What the! Captain! Get inside! Kaylin urged him into his office. Inside, Elion had a frown on his face. Great. Now, we have snipers. He opened the curtains of the window. Since the shot came from the side that faced the back of his office, he wasnt concerned about getting shot from his window. He watched as his men hid behind whatever they could find or buildings they could get in. Then the humans in the field started running. Shoot the running humans! Shots further into the camp were heard. Damon grew concerned as it didnt seem that the shots were anywhere near where his men were. <<<"Ghost Sierra, do you see what''s happening where the shots are coming from? Not good. The prisoners are trying to run but they are getting shot at by the elves. We are trying to kill those shooting. How far away is it? 1st Platoon will be there soon. Ghost One. This is Ghost Actual. Get your asses moving! The damn elves are killing the prisoners.>>> The shooting outside of Elions office got louder and louder. It wasnt from his soldiers killing the prisoners but the battle against the assaulting humans. Captain. Most of the humans have either escaped or been killed. We need to relocate. If we hug the walls, we can avoid the snipers. Get one of the magiradioelf and tell them to start an organized retreat. A figure walked up the street towards a squad from the 2nd Platoon. The Rangers aimed their guns. Hold fire! Its a person. At that, they lowered their guns. A soldier of the 4th Platoon kicked the door open. He swept his eyes and gun around the entire room and noticed a cowering figure. Looking closely, the figure didnt have pointy ears. <<<"Found another human.>>> Watching from an elevated position, the sniper teams watched as most of the elves started retreating. Some of the elves stayed back and continued fighting. <<>> Damon nodded. <<>> Elion huffed a bit as he rested. Elion, Kaylin, and around 30 of his elves were scattered on the other side of the camp. Elion shook his head. We cant hold this camp. I have requested reinforcements but the closest unit is a couple of hours away. Shots rang out. Kaylin looked alarmed. She beckoned over a magiradioelf and started contacting the platoon commanders. After a short conversation over the magiradio, she went over to Elion. They were able to get through the ones covering us. The sound of the shots got louder and closer. Captain, we need to get into a building," said Kaylin. She also called over a handful of the soldiers nearby. We will take up a position in that building. Elion went up to the second floor with Kaylin and a couple of soldiers following. One of the soldiers looked out the window at the firefight. He looked back at Elion. Captain, what do we do? They are getting closer. Elion considered the question before looking at Kaylin. . Kaylin, can we retreat? We should but we may not have a safe route to do so. The soldier looking out the window spoke up again. Captain some of the soldiers outside are surrendering. Elions eyes lit up. The humans? No. Ours. Outside, one by one, the elves started throwing down their weapons and raising their hands. When the 2nd and 3rd Platoon penetrated the already weakened elven covering force, the covering force was thrown into disarray and started surrendering. This caused more and more elves to do so too. Before long, the Rangers secured the entire camp and killed off the last of the ones still resisting. A few hours later The Rangers guarding the front gate readied their weapons as multiple figures appeared on a road. One of the Rangers squinted at the figures before shouting. Its the Green Berets that are supposed to link up with us! A few minutes later Pablo greeted Damon. Damon replied in a joking manner. What took you so long? You missed our battle. Pablo laughed. Trust me, we had our own battle. Well, I can see that. 0400 May 14th, 2020 CE 0500 Sun 44th, 196 AE In the air over the Elven Nation Formations of F-15s and F-16s swooped down low. Their speed made them almost unhittable by the elven air defense. Off in the distance, black smoke rose from burning metal. Multiple B-1Bs dropped their payloads onto large elven coastal fortifications. 20 B-52s cruised at nearly 50,000 feet. Although they were all in different locations, they were all moving south and deeper into elf territory. Northern Sector Elven Detection Station An elven operator gave an emergency report. We have detected multiple aircraft scattered by themselves in the air across our sector. They all entered from the south where the humans are attacking. The commanding officer nodded. Alert all air bases in the Northern Sector to respond. 20 squadrons of Ea-192s took off from multiple different air bases scattered across the Northern Sector. Each headed straight for one of the detected aircraft. In the air The weather in the Northern Sector was extremely clear and it was easy to see for miles. One of the elf pilots noticed a single aircraft. It seemed so small because of how high above them it was. <<>> The elves easily identified it as a heavy bomber but were mystified as to how it flew since it didnt have propellers on its wings. The twelve Ea-192s started to climb towards it. Within a few minutes of climbing, their engines started cutting out and they stalled. They had barely reached their target. The Ea-192s curved backward and started falling. Falling for a bit, they regained control. <<>> Again, they tried. They aimed their aircraft at the human bomber and quickly climbed to intercept it. When the pilots felt that they were about to stall, they opened fire. Even with the Ea-192s reaching their maximum ceiling of around 39,000 feet, their bullets couldnt reach the lone human bomber cruising slowly through the sky as if it was mocking them. Each squadron of twelve Ea-192s was unable to engage the B-52s that they had been tasked to destroy. The B-52s continued on their journey. Chapter 70 – Operatioon Firestorm Part 6 RonTheBlackCat "Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate. From 30,000 feet, every single bomb always hits the ground." - US Air Force ammunition memo Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 In the air near the center of the Elven Nation Aircraft Commander Evan Matthews glanced out the window of his B-52. Green mountains were seemingly spread across the land. Propeller aircraft darted back and forth below them. <<>> His co-pilot, Evan Smith, chuckled. <<>> Further inside the B-52, Jyreese Barnett, the radar navigator, whistled into his microphone as he looked at his video camera. <<>> Their B-52, ladened with nearly 70,000 pounds of bombs, lumbered on through the sky as the Ea-192s gave chase down below. Northern Sector Detection Station, Elven Nation Based on their trajectory, they are going directly to all southern airfields. Theres also one headed for our station. Senior Lieutenant Ivasaar Phiwarin rubbed his chin at the words of Lieutenant Alok Yesdan who was standing in front of his desk. And all the Ea-192 squadrons that have been sent out cant shoot them down? Alok nodded. Yes. All airbases are reporting that the Ea-192s dont have the altitude. So theres one that''s headed to our station and it''s a heavy bomber. Alok nodded again. Yes, sir. Get this to High Command. Ivassar stood up. As for us, we are evacuating. Get all the important documents. Tell everyone to pack up. Alok turned to leave but stopped himself. Um, sir, we already lost contact with High Command. Oh, forgot about that. Then switch to Northern Sub-Command. Ivasaar went to grab a few files from the drawers behind him. Not hearing his door close, he looked back. Why are you just standing there? Alok rubbed his neck. Sir uhhh how do we contact them? With a mildly surprised expression, Ivassar asked, You are telling me that we have never contacted them before in our many drills even though this region is under their control? Well, sir this was not in expectation with any of our military drills. It was assumed that the High Command Office would always be available. Just alert all airbases first, I should be able to find the number to call them. Emethmel Air Base, Elven Nation The 55th Squadron failed to shoot down the enemy aircraft, said Lieutenant Colonel Goren Ertoris while saluting. Colonel Vaeril Quican showed his clear unhappiness at the news. What? How? Its only a single aircraft. The aircraft is flying higher than any of our aircraft can. Vaeril raised his eyebrows. This is ridiculous. We got reports from our detection station that one of the aircraft, which has been identified as a heavy bomber, is headed straight for us. Its only one bomber right? Goren gave a curt nod. Yes. Vaeril gave it a few minutes of thought before explaining his thinking to Goren. It shouldnt be able to destroy that much of the base. Tell all pilots to start evacuating by taking off with their aircraft. Tell other personnel to take whats important and start leaving the base. We will all return once the bombing is over. Hopefully, the runways will still be operational or fixable after that bombing. Most of them should. Its only one bomber that probably is carrying very light bombs. No more than 10,000 pounds probably. Coupled with the fact that the accuracy of bombers isnt that good either. Our airfield shouldnt be that badly damaged. Goren showed a bit of uncertainty. Sir, how are you so sure about the weight? Remember the canceled prototype that we had? The Ra-177 Heavy Bomber? It could only carry around 15,000 pounds of bombs. And it couldnt even fly higher than our fighter aircraft. Im somewhat overestimating seeing how the humans have their bomber so high. I guess 5,000 to 10,000 pounds would be a good guess. A few minutes later Ea-192s and Ra-189s started taking off from the runways. More aircraft were wheeled out from the hangars and pilots got into them. Elves ran in and out of buildings carrying papers, boxes, tools, and various other things. They loaded them into cars and trucks. Watched as his aides loaded up the officer car with important documents. Vaerils head turned to follow the last airplane, an Ea-192, as it sped down the runway. He looked at his driver before stepping into the officer car. Follow the convoy out. 10 minutes later In the air Jyreese stared at the video feed of the ground below. <<>> Evan chuckled over the radio. <<>> In massive clusters, Mk-82 500 pound and Mk-84 2,000-pound bombs started falling out from underneath the B-52. Explosions rocked the Elven airfield below as massive plumes of black smoke rose from wherever the bombs hit. A few miles from the Emethmel Air Base Vaerill stepped out of his car and looked through the trees of the forest. He could see black smoke rising towards the sky. He walked back towards the car. Start turning around. Contact all units, and tell them to start returning to base. What is this our planes cant land now! Once they returned, the airfield was barely recognizable. What used to be runways were now blackened ground filled with craters of various sizes. The barracks and hangars were now a pile of metal and wood strewn around. An Ea-192 circled overhead. The pilot, Voron Genjor, looked over at the ground and wondered how he was supposed to land. Vaeril stared at the ground of the airbase before looking up and saying, They are going to need to find elsewhere to land. Goren, who was right beside him, grew concerned. Where else though? Other than this clearing, its all mostly forest around here. Are we able to contact any other airbase near us? We do have a magiradio. I will try contacting the other bases. A few minutes later Goren shook his head when he returned to Vaerils side. I cant reach any of the other bases. Now a mixture of Ea-192s and Ra-189s were circling overhead. Vaeril became quiet for a few seconds before saying, How long do you think we can make a suitable runway? Goren looked around and towards all the soldiers that had returned. Their vehicles parked around what used to be the airbase. We dont have any construction equipment and having the men dig a suitable dirt runway will take a while because of these massive craters. Then get them to work. This is probably the only way to get these planes to land safely. Because they were filled to the brim with bombs and were flying at their maximum altitude, the B-52s combat range was significantly reduced. However, the total distance from the northern tip of the Elven Nation was around only 15% of the B-52s total unfueled combat range. They were easily able to continue their journey back to their air bases in the Magus Imperium. Voron watched from his Ea-192 as the elves on the ground scurried around the bombed airfield. They were clearly trying to clear a way so the planes could land. He looked at his magic gauge. It was nearly 80% empty. He was going to have to land soon. 20 minutes later He watched as a different Ea-192 attempted to perform a landing on one of the narrow roads through the forest. It got closer and closer to the ground while tilting to avoid the trees. It seemed to be doing well until the plane veered a bit to the right. Its right wing struck one of the trees of the forest. The right wing came right off and the aircraft spiraled out of control. The Ea-192 disappeared from his view before a loud explosion could be heard. Smoke rose from somewhere in the forest. A few more aircraft tried to land on the dirt roads or small clearings in the forest in the next hour. A couple even tried to land in the rivers that flowed across the forests. Some of the pilots survived but all their planes were completely destroyed. The soldiers trying to repair the airfield were unlikely to finish on time. Voron looked at his magic gauge once more. The magic was completely out. He had even exhausted all his magic when he poured it into the aircraft. He had no confidence that he would be able to survive a crash landing. Pressing a button, he ejected from his Ea-192. He quickly deployed his parachute and floated down. A few other pilots followed his example and ejected from their planes. Voron sat on the ground next to one of the trucks near the airbase. He watched as soldiers ran around trying to even out the runway. He looked up at the sky and watched the remaining planes. It wasnt long before something caught his eye. An Ra-189 started lining up on the still unfixed runway. It passed over the soldiers doing the fixing. Its propellers blew wind across the ground. It made a hard bank to the right and circled around. It started flying lower and lower. The soldiers on the runway shouted and started running out of the way. The planes wheels touched the blackened dirt and started running down the destroyed runway. It wasnt long before it hit a crater at very fast speeds and flipped over. The pilot, slightly injured, dragged himself out from under the plane. With the runway unable to be repaired and landing in the heavily forested area nearly impossible, most of the pilots just abandoned their planes and parachuted out. Similar things occurred across the north, as all airfields in the Northern Sector had been bombed to oblivion. Unlike the south with sparse forests and many plains, the north was full of forests. A large mountain range divided the north from the south. Although personnel casualties were low, the loss of most of the planes that had been held in reserve in the northern sector had a severe cost. Somewhere in the Elven Nation Tarron sat down in a chair in his new office room. He turned his head from left to right and looked at the surviving generals. Give me a detailed report of everything that has gone on. The generals glanced at each other. Field Marshal Aegord Gael, who had not been in the High Command Office when it was bombed, responded, That will be extremely difficult, my Leader. It''s complete chaos now. We are getting reports of attacks everywhere. It seems to be mostly from the air. Just give me everything you are able to find out. In the sea less than 20 miles from the Elven Nation Nick played a game of poker with his tank crew. We should be there quite soon. Lets finish this game up and get ready. Beaches of the Magus Imperium Issac boarded his transport ship along with the rest of his unit. He stretched while staring out at the glittering sea. Chapter 71 – Operation Firestorm Part 7 RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 "You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you." - Dwight D. Eisenhower to the soldiers on D-Day https://youtu.be/NRbDLIXAp4o - Sabaton Primo Victoria Also I kinda forgot to add the times to the last chapter. Will do that soon. 0522 May 14th, 2020 CE 0541 Sun 44th, 196 AE Somewhere in the Elven Nation Aegord had a grim look on his face as he gave an oral report to Tarron. Its absolute chaos out there. We are still able to communicate with some of our units but we are just getting panicked reports from them. From what we could gather, we have lost a majority of our bases and our navy has mostly been sunk. We tried directly calling the airbases, naval bases, and army bases but most of them were unresponsive. However, the aircraft and ground units we have sheltered inside mountains have been untouched. Other than a few other units, the ones in the mountains are the only ones that havent been attacked. Tarron scratched his forehead while keeping his eyes shut. How did these humans know where to attack? Spies would make sense but they seem to know the location of everything. Even with spies, that would be impossible. Aerial reconnaissance would be improbable. We kept up a constant aerial patrol. Not a single scout plane should have been able to get through. Aegord shook his head. Im not sure, sir. How about the defenses we have set up? We also tried contacting those positions. Most were unresponsive but we got a few responses from survivors. We can conclude that most of them have been destroyed or heavily damaged. Tarron tapped his desk and looked up at Aegord. Operation Continued Arrow has started, correct? Its well underway. Sylfebel, Elven Nation The sun had almost risen to the midway point. An elven officer stood on a hastily erected stand made out of crates. The humans have launched a surprise attack and snuck onto our shores! Most of our army is currently winning the war in the human homeland and is unable to return. It is time to serve your duty for your nation! It is time to destroy these inferiors who dare tread on our land! All able-bodied male veterans please line up first! Murmurs of suspicion arose from the crowd. For the past few hours, they had seen strange aircraft flying over the sky. Nonetheless, no one argued. Male veterans started lining up. Elven soldiers handed out rifles, pistols, machine guns, explosives, grenades, and portable anti-magipanzers. After they received their weapons, the officer spoke again to the veterans. We also have a few thauguns. They are linked up to trucks outside of the town. Okay. Now. All able-bodied males! They were given everything that the veterans got except for the PAMs. All able-bodied female veterans! They were just given rifles, pistols, and grenades. All able-bodied females! They were handed rifles and pistols. For those with our new anti-magipanzer weapon, said the officer as he raised the PAM. We will have a demonstration on the field over there as to how to use them. The officer walked the male veterans to an open field. He coughed to bring the attention of everyone. This triangle cone on top of this tube is a rocket filled with magic particles set to explode. You just have to press this button under the tube to fire it. There is an iron sight on it to help you aim. These are to be used against any sort of vehicle and are not reusable. Fire them once and they cant be reloaded. The officer aimed the PAM and pressed the button under the tube. The rocket shot out and exploded a few hundred feet away. Orva Caelora Human Concentration Camp, Elven Nation Damon conversed with Pablo in what used to be a guardhouse. Our job is to guard these people at all costs. We were given two options. Wait until our main force arrives or advance towards where the main force will be coming from. We will get air support via any nearby air units. Personally, I think the forest option is better. Pablo considered it for a second. Either way, we have an issue. With this amount of people in addition to the elves, I dont think we have the supplies to feed this many people. Good point. Damon nodded at Pablos analysis. Good thing is is that the concentration camp here does have a lot of food. However, we dont really have the ability to bring it with us. There are trucks and cars here but its gonna be hard traveling down the road hiding this many people. Hm. It seems like we are staying. Damon opened the door and looked outside. Seems that way. We are going to be here for some days. Outside, their men ran around erecting a few defenses. Using shovels, they dug a trench at the front gate. 0644 May 14th, 2020 CE 0622 Sun 44th, 196 AE A couple miles from the shores of the Elven Nation Nick pulled down his hatch and looked at his crew. Ok boys, we are hitting the beaches soon. The Air Force has been doing some bombing so I dont expect resistance to be heavy. AH-1Z Vipers took off from the deck of the USS Bonhomme Richard and other amphibious assault ships. On the beach, smoke billowed from the destroyed fortifications. In one of the Vipers, a pilot spoke into his headphones. <<>> The 20 mm M197 three-barreled rotary cannon that was on the front belly of the helicopter started spinning. Bullets soon spewed out onto the beach. Hydra 70 rockets flew out of the launchers on the side of the Viper. Explosions blanketed the area. An anti-tank gun position exploded. On the ground, Elves ran around like ants. Nick felt his tank jolt as the LCAC he was on crashed into the sea. Uma looked up from his driver seat at Nick. How many of these amphibious assaults have we done? Two. Uma scratched his head. I thought we did three? Nick waved him off. I dont quite remember. Anywhere between two to four. More than we need. A few minutes later The LCAC that Nicks Abrams was in hit the beach and quickly deflated. The front gate opened down right as Uma put the pedal to the metal. A vein popped on Nicks head as the tank sped onto the sand. Connolly! Goddamit! You nearly rammed us into the fucking LCAC. Above them, the AH-1Z Vipers, out of ammo, banked and turned back towards the large group of amphibious assault ships that were just offshore. Besides them, another LCAC came ashore and disgorged two M1A1s. On the M1A1s sides, AAVs came ashore. Bullets pinged off of the AAVs. Shots came from the stone rubble of fortifications. From the little turret of the AAVs, the Mk19 40 mm automatic grenade launchers and the .50 cal machine guns opened up at the rubble. Nick shouted at Dillian. We got enemy infantry direct front. Open up with the machine guns. Switching to thermals. The red-orange heat given off by the elves could be seen in the camera feed that Dillian was looking through. The machine guns on Nicks Abrams opened up on the elves hiding behind the rubble. Under the cover of fire, marines rushed out from the open back doors of the AAVs. They positioned themselves behind the armored vehicles and started firing. The fire from the elves slackened as bullets poured down on them. A tank shell exploded on the cheek of Nicks Abrams. A Knight had peeked out from a small hill. Nick shouted again at Dillian. Tank 1 oclock! Firing! The round went right into the turret of the Knight. In a flash, the Knights turret exploded and was flung into the sky. Advance! Their Abrams whirred to life and started moving forwards. Behind them, MV-22 Osprey landed onto the beachhead and more marines ran out. Small arms fire from the elves peppered the advancing armored vehicles. The AH-1Zs sped past overhead and headed deeper into land. They began clearing the way for the advancing ground forces. Marines moved up to the rubble and took cover behind them. The supporting M1A1s and AAVs gunned down any nearby elves that appeared or started shooting. Sergeant Finn Johnson, sitting behind a piece of rubble, looked over his shoulder. Bullets from a machine gun whizzed past him. The rest of his squad was crouched with him. Finn nodded his head over the rubble. Got a machine gunner there. Blake, give me suppressing fire. Im gonna throw a grenade over. Got it, sir. Private Blake York peeked out from the other side of the rubble and opened up with his M4 rifle. Finn stood up and tossed a grenade over where the machine gun fire had come from. He quickly ducked back down and Blake returned to cover. An explosion came from where he chucked the grenade and with that, the hail of bullets stopped. However, singular bullets still whizzed by. Machine gunner down but we got some rifle fire. A fusillade of machine-gun fire was heard. An M1A1 had opened up with its machine guns on the elves that were firing on them. The rest of Finns platoon peeked out of cover and started firing. It wasnt long before Nicks Abrams was off the sand and onto the dirt. Something pinged off the sloped front of the tank. Anti-tank gun. 11 oclock! An anti-tank gun was sitting in a dug-out position just to the left of them. It had sandbags surrounding it. Near it was multiple already destroyed anti-tank guns. Firing! The high explosive slammed into the anti-tank gun just as its crew reloaded. The gun exploded and its crew was vaporized in the combined blast. Port City of Ilysesari, Elven Nation Ara sat down. In the room were the current commanding officers of the army units in Ilysesari. They were all survivors of the failed invasion. Usually, this divisional meeting would be a meeting of Major Generals and Lieutenant Generals but some of the elves ranked as low as captain were also participating. Captain Feno Dagolor, current commander of whats left of the 7th Infantry Division started the meeting. The naval base. Its completely gone. Colonel Giullis Keaynore, commander of whats left of the 21st Magipanzer Division, dishearteningly commented, You saw the planes right? Femo nodded. They are the exact same ones as those that attacked us in the Empire. The humans are already here. High Command is gone. We cant reach them. Ara sighed and interjected. They are doing the same thing. Giullis looked at her questionably. What do you mean? Their basic strategy is to cut off the head and let the body writhe in confusion. We experienced that when they destroyed our bases in the Empire. Have we received any exact orders or reports? We did receive some panicked messages. We know that this is occurring across the country. The humans are bombing everything. Nothing is clear yet though. Ara nodded. I suggest we retreat. Lieutenant General Ailred Farrah, commander of the 34th Infantry Division and one of the few higher ranked in the meeting, disagreed. Isnt it better if we fortify our position? Ara looked down at the map that was on the table. She pointed to the mountain range that divided the south from the north. This is the best place to set up a defense. Ailred scoffed. We are all the way on the southern tip and you are expecting us to move hundreds of miles across land that''s under attack by the human aircraft? Ara shook her head. We will not move as one. We will move in multiple small groups. The humans would most likely attack large numbers of units setting up defenses than small numbers retreating. How are you certain? Im not. Im betting on it. Its our only real chance of putting up a fight. You experienced what happened when we tried to defend cities against these humans. Chapter 72 – Into the Hornet’s Nest RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Well just finished watching the fireworks. GOD BLESS AMERICA. Also, I''m kinda currently suffering from writer''s block and a general feeling that this story isn''t good enough. *sigh* https://youtu.be/5uPoDNEn3I0 AMERICA FUCK YEAH HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY 0910 May 14th, 2020 CE 0735 Sun 44th, 196 AE Near the shore of the Elven Nation By the end of the day, the Marines had secured a beachhead spanning miles. Nick sat in his Abrams while keeping an eye out for any threats. The anti-tank gun fired and the shell ricocheted off of the Abram''s cheek. After Nick turned the turret towards the anti-tank gun, Dillian quickly dispatched it with a single shot. <<<>> AAVs and Humvees pulled up right beside the Abrams. Marines exited their vehicles and started moving into town. Nicks Abram followed the infantry as they entered the town. The AAVs and Humvees lined up right behind. Although the town seemed empty, the air felt tense to Nick. This town doesnt feel right. Uma commented nonchalantly. I guess the civilians evacuated. Nick wondered to himself. Then why was there an anti-tank gun right outside of the town? I dunno. Maybe they were a part of the defenses that they had set up. Brian, the loader, interjected. Well so far, considering the lack of noise, the houses should be empty. The infantry was kicking open the doors to the surrounding houses on the street. So far, there was no sound of battle. Uma laughed. We are in a tank and fighting a country that cant even field modern weaponry. What are we so worried about? Brian shrugged. It''s still a war. Who knows what could happen. Shots rang out. Nick wrinkled his nose. More shooting started. Finn slammed his back to a wall beside him as soon as he saw the partially concealed machine gun peeking out of a houses window. Machine gun! It opened up and wildly sprayed bullets at them. Finn returned fire with the rest of his squad. From another window, a grenade was lobbed towards them. It landed right beside Blake. Aw fuck! Blake knew that what was shown in movies and video games where people just threw back grenades was utter bullcrap. Grenades only had around a 3 to 5-second fuse and he wasnt superhuman. Blake dived for the ground. A few seconds went by and no explosion occurred. From his prone position, he looked back at the grenade. Oh, they forgot to pull the pin. Finn got his back on the wall next to the door that led into the house where the grenade came from. He threw a flashbang in. Hearing it go off, he burst in with two others from his squad. Seeing armed elves covering their eyes, Finn started shooting. They cleared the living room in no time. Shots rang out from the stairs. Whoever was firing seemed to be randomly firing at the first floor. Johnson. Get your team and keep us covered downstairs. The rest of you guys in here, we are going up. Some guy is trying to blind fire or something. Im throwing a grenade up. Finn tossed one upstairs and it clinked onto the ground of the second floor. Shouting was heard and then an explosion. Finn moved up first followed by his men. Two bodies laid strewn on the ground. Im checking the first door. They methodically checked each room of the house which in the end were all clear. One of Finns men, Curtis Sheridan, stared at one of the dead bodies. They are just fucking civilians. Blake seemed to come to an understanding. Explains why that pin wasnt pulled. Finn shook his head. This feels just like Im back in Afghanistan. Blake nodded. Well, at least there arent any children. I hope it stays that way. Multiple gunshots rang out from outside the house. Finn patted Curtis who was still staring at the body. Ok. We dont have time to chit-chat. Let''s move. We still have a job to do. Nicks Abrams moved up the road. A firefight was occurring between US infantry and elves who were taking cover behind a makeshift barricade. Firing an HE, the barricade exploded. Nick and Dillian opened up with the machine guns on the tank at the surviving elves. Something flew towards the Abrams at high speeds. It exploded on the glacis plate of the tank. Connolly shouted. Is that an anti-tank gun? Nick shrugged. I dont see anything. Well, it didnt damage the tank, keep moving forward. Finn ran to his platoon leader, Second Lieutenant Albery Gray, who was standing outside with another squad of their platoon. Albery had split the platoon in order to cover more houses. Finn shouted over the gunshots. Sir, we cleared out the house. Killed a couple of elves in there. Seemed to be armed civvies. Whats happening out there? Same thing as you got. Armed civvies. Now, we got a Humvee coming as support. There are reports that the elves got barricades and cover set up on the streets all around town. The Humvee is gonna help a lot. I want you and your squad to keep the Humvee covered. We got lots of elves further ahead. The rest of the platoon will clear out the nearby houses. Got it, sir! It wasnt long before the Humvee pulled up. Finn slapped the side of the Humvee a couple of times. We got ya covered. The rest of our platoon is clearing the houses further up. The .50 cal gunner started eyeing the windows further ahead. Bullets pinged off the Humvee as shots came from the second floor of a house up ahead. Fuck! Get down. The .50 cal gunner blasted the window where the shots came from. With the nearby houses cleared, they moved up the road. RPG! A rocket slammed into the front of the Humvee. Finn and the rest of the squad were flung to the ground. His ears rang and his surroundings looked blurry. He put his hand down on the ground as he tried to get up. He heard shooting and a lot of gunshots. A soldier, he wasnt sure who, helped him up and got him into cover. Gaining back his senses, he took in his surroundings. One of the men in his squad, Private Dave Hunts, was screaming as he clutched his left leg which was clearly blown off. Motherfucker, what was that?! The elves have RPGs! Dave! Hold on we are getting you outta here. We need a CASEVAC! This zones too fucking hot. Carry him out of here first. We dont want the heli to get blown out of the sky. Bullets whizzed around as elves in plain cloth popped out and started firing. An hour later Finn sat in a chair in one of the houses as he munched on his MRE which was some sort of meat in barbecue sauce. Corporal Johnson looked very pissed. It was obvious why. Dave was one of the men in his team. When the fuck did the elves get fucking RPGs? Blake responded while eating his MRE. Well, I guess today. And they gave them to fucking civilians. Curtis cut in. Is Dave gonna be alright? Blake shrugged. Not sure. Man, he still has a wife and kids at home. A silence filled the room as they ate their rations. The silence was soon broken by Curtis. Those were civilians werent they. Blake looked over. Yep. It was clear that Curtis didnt look too well.And you guys are okay with this? Finn sighed. After the first house that they had cleared, Curtis seemingly started to put in less effort. Well terrorists were once civilians and we shot them without a blink of an eye. Look soldier, Finn stood up. If they are armed and trying to kill you, you gotta kill them or they are gonna kill your friends. Curtis still looked upset. Some of them were women. I know this is different from what you have been experiencing so far. You have only been deployed for a year but it''s no different from the old world. You see most of us here. We were deployed to Camp Dwyer in Afghanistan. We had to kill kids sometimes. Nobody wants to kill a kid. But when you have one running at you and your friends with a bomb strapped to their chest, you gotta do what you have to do. Blake shook his head. At least the elves in this town havent armed their kids. We got 10 who are probably orphans now. At this, Curtis looked uneasy again. Finn stared unhappily at Blake. Near Port City of Ilysesari, Elven Nation Ara set out in her Knight with another Knight and two Stallions. A few platoons of infantry and magipanzers have already set off earlier. It wasnt long before she came upon the damage wrought by the humans. From her open commanders hatch, she scanned the blackened fields of destroyed magipanzers and thauguns. What was this all for? She said to no one in particular. Staring at the destruction, she thought back to her childhood. At only 59, she was still a young elf so it wasnt hard. She remembered how she was taught that the world was destined to be for the elves. How she learned about the inferiority of humans. There was even a mandatory class studying the shortcomings of the humans. Their magic was inferior. Their technology was inferior. They were just inferior beings. She remembered how she was so excited when she had joined the army and learned that they were preparing to invade the humans. To finally defeat an enemy that she had learned to curse at from youth. Looking at the scene in front of her brought her much anger but also a lot of doubt. She was scared of the doubt growing in her. In fact, she hated it. To doubt something she had believed her whole life. She pushed it to the back of her head. Chapter 73 – Psyops and Delusions of Grandeur RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the late chapter. Had too much of a busy day. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1022 May 14th, 2020 CE 0811 Sun 44th, 196 AE Nea Nalore, Elven Nation Elves bustled around in the big city. Although they were in plain clothes, they carried all sorts of weapons. Most of them set up sandbags. Some of the elves who have earth magic set up small walls to close off streets. Inside a grocery store, Alien Morvaris, the shopkeeper, conversed with his friend and regular customer, Elwin Luyjre. I dont believe what that officer said one bit. It sounds ridiculous. What military would invade with such force when they are being invaded? Those planes in the sky are definitely not ours. Elwin frowned. Even if he was lying, I would never allow a human to step onto our soil unless they are coming here as a slave. Do we even have to treat them that bad? The shock on Elwins face grew into anger. You are actually sympathizing with those trash, right? Look at how their ears arent pointy. It looks disgusting, who would have round ears. Also, I can easily raise walls. A human cant do that. And they cant even live past 100 years. If they arent cursed beings only suitable as slaves, then I dont know what is." Elwin started to calm down and looked sadly at Alien. "Look, we have been good friends and I hope this is a one-time thing. I don''t want to do this to you. However, if you truly believe it, I will tell everyone and you know what happens right?" Elwin stared at Alien menacingly. Alien gulped and nodded. "... sorry, I just got scared of the human weapons and the fact that they are invading us." Elwin made a wide smile. "It''s fine. We will beat them back. You have nothing to worry about. Now, can I get some flour?" A whirring sound filled the air. The elves looked up and pointed at the plane. Some started to murmur while others ran for cover. The C-130 started descending and soon flew at a stable and low altitude. Nearing the city, Its back door opened. Paper spewed out and started fluttering to the ground. Elves cautiously picked up the papers and looked at them. On one side, the picture of a battlefield was shown on top. It was a view of many destroyed elven magipanzers and dead elves. Right below the picture was this message: Attention People of the Elven Nation Almost all of your military forces have been destroyed. Do not take up arms! Our forces do not wish to harm the innocent civilians of the Elven Nation. The Government of the United States of America guarantees the safety and wellbeing of all peaceful civilians. On the other side of the leaflet was a four-panel drawn picture. The top left panel showed an elf with a bolt action rifle. An arrow went to the top right panel which showed the elf dead. On the bottom left panel was an elf without a weapon. An arrow went to the bottom right panel which showed an alive elf. With most of the air cleared out and more available aircraft, the US began their psyops. In multiple Elven cities, these messages were dropped. In addition to the C-130s, F-15E Strike Eagles dropped PDU-5B dispenser units. The dispenser units burst in mid-air and spread the leaflets. 1155 May 14th, 2020 CE 0827 Sun 44th, 196 AE Jaonor, Elven Nation Alosrin Ilikian stood with his back against a wall. His older brother, Almer Ilikian, stood beside him. Although they were both cooks with no military experience, they were proud to fight for their country. The noise of a tank was heard right around the corner. Alosrin shouted to his older brother. Theres a tank! I got the PAM. Firing! The rocket shot out at the Abrams. It hit the side of it and an explosion went off. The smoke quickly cleared and the Abramss turret turned towards the two elves. Almers eyes widened. Run! Machine gun fire cut them down. Orva Caelora Human Concentration Camp, Elven Nation Pablo leaned back in the chair. You think we are going to be attacked any time soon? Damon shrugged. Well, you never know. Its been more than an entire day and there has not been any presence of an elven force within a few mile radius. We can probably be evaced soon. Depends on how much progress the Marines are making. Well even if this is a concentration camp, this kind of feels like a vacation. Damon started laughing. A Green Beret calling being in a concentration camp a vacation. Kind of ironic isnt it with your motto To Liberate the Oppressed. Pablo chuckled. Anyways, with their country being invaded, do you think they will even have time to care about their concentration camps going offline. I wont be surprised if they dont even know we took this over. They have bigger issues. Washington D.C. Preisdent Hayes shook his head. I will not authorize the bombing of civilians. These are just towns and cities. If it''s a political building or something of military value inside a civilian area, then fine. But Im not going to authorize the bombing of random streets. Cralson slammed the table. Mr. President, our soldiers are dying fighting these elves on the streets. It seems that almost all of them have taken up arms. Remember the media has an eye on this war. They threw a fit when I didnt allow them to report on the outside world for the first few months. There are going to be a lot of war correspondents for this invasion. Just continue attacking military targets. If IF the situation worsens. Then I will consider it. Jaonor, Elven Nation Finn leaned against the wall. The elven military was the least of their concerns now. This was their second town. A bit smaller than the last one but many of the civilians fought to the death. Heard the Armys coming. Johnson nodded. For once Im fucking glad they are here. These elves are suicidal. Hows Curtis doing? Hes doing alright I guess. I dont like the pause there. Johnson shook his head while looking at his feet. Well, it hasnt improved. I know. Hes still new. I probably should go talk to him again. Finn walked towards where the rest of his men were resting. You guys holding up well? I dont like this either. We are basically exterminating these people. Well, these elves. Blake took a swig of his water. Well, let''s just think of them as terrorists. Nothing changed. They just have pointy ears now and even worse weapons. Finn sat down beside Curtis. Through the background noise, there was a moment of silence between them. Curtis. Why did you join the Marines? Quite a cliche story actually I guess I was almost gonna graduate high school and I still had no idea what I was going to do. My scores werent that magnificent and going to a state college didnt really appeal to me. Really didnt want to go into debt getting a useless degree. I was quite bored so I just decided to join the Marines. By chance, after I finished training, we were transported to this world. Finn sighed and looked at Curtis. Well, the military isnt for everyone. If you cant take it anymore, just talk to me. ???, Elven Nation Anfalen burst in after knocking on the door. My Leader. The humans are spreading propaganda from the sky. Look at this. He threw the leaflets onto Tarrons desk. Tarron read them for a minute and looked up. His fist slammed the table. Get me to the magiradio room. The last time he made a speech was before the elven invasion of the humans. He knew exactly what to say. The magiradio operator switched to the public channel and spoke. <<>> Tarron gripped his microphone for a few seconds before starting to speak. He shouted into the microphone with force and anger. <<>> Nea Nalore, Elven Nation In the streets, elves that had crowded around the public magiradios nodded. Murmurs arose. That would explain those planes. My goodness, the humans working with the demons of prophecy. Just how evil can these humans become? Burn these papers! Burn these lies! The crowd turned into a sea of fury. Elves started ripping apart the psyop leaflets. Some threw them into fires while others conjured up small flames. Bombarded with propaganda for hundreds of years, taught to always listen to their Leader, and to consider humans to be no more than animals, most could not see that they were clearly being lied to. Only a minority knew better and they dared not to speak. Tarron did not need a secret police because the citizens themselves were the secret police. Tarron took a deep breath. In his mind, Tarron assured himself that they would win. He put his trust into the superweapons that they still have yet to use. As long as they could beat the Americans back, they could win. They just needed to fight them until they couldnt fight anymore. He truly thought that it was his destiny to fulfill his fathers vision. He left the magiradio room and made his way directly to the military room. It was a large room filled with desks and maps. Tarron approached Aegord. Have we re-established contact with most of the surviving units? Yes, sir, most of them. The situation doesnt look good at all though. Let me take a look. What units are functioning? And what are not? A large map on the table showed the entire Elven Nation. Aegord placed objects onto the map. He showed the positions of each surviving unit and their conditions. After a very thorough and detailed showing, Tarron gathered his top generals. Colonel General Vuduin Roqen proposed his idea. My Leader, we are thinking of a spread-out defense. The humans air force is very capable of destroying massed forces. By spreading them out, we will make it harder for the human aircraft to destroy our units. They will have to hunt them down one by one. The spread-out units will support the citizens who are fighting back. General of the Infantry Ryo Miahorn shot back instantly. I propose that we retreat to the mountains. It''s a natural defense and is much more easily guarded. Colonel Genera Roqens plan just causes unnecessary casualties and only weakens us. A unified force at an easily defended place is better. Vuduin scoffed. We will be losing nearly half the country if we do so. Tarron pondered for a bit. I see merit in both of your statements. But I believe that General of the Infantry Miahorns plan is more sensible. However, we shall not lose our territory without a fight. We will use Colonel General Roqens plan here. We will organize a few units for a spread-out defense. If it works well, we will call back our retreating units. If not, then most of our men will be able to fight another day as they would have already retreated. Ryo smirked at Genera. Genera narrowed his eyes. Because of their constantly conflicting strategies and opinions, they had been rivals ever since they were both Major Generals. When Genera was promoted to Colonel General, Ryo threw a fit. Chapter 74 – 2nd Battalion, 37th Armored RonTheBlackCat Sorry about being late. I started working at a restaurant recently and it''s been tiring. My sleep schedule is now completely fucked up XD. Also, my computer sometimes gives me a headache... Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0044 May 15th, 2020 CE 0322 Sun 45th, 196 AE <<>> The TV screen changes to a person standing on the deck of a ship. A few seconds of silence follow. <<>> The camera pans towards the shore. <<>> The camera swivels to where the ships are departing the Oak Hill. Off the shore of the Elven Nation Multiple ships pulled up to the beaches. The largest of them all, the USAV Major General Robert Smalls and USAV Major General Charles P. Gross, Landing Ship Vessels, dropped down its front door. One by one, a total of twenty-eight M1A2 Abrams, two armored companies worth of tanks, rolled off. This made up the entire tank force of the 2nd Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment. The 2nd Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment was one of the Armor Combined Arms Battalion of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team. It was made up of two armored companies and one mechanized rifle company. Besides the Landing Ship Vessels, many LCUs, LCACs, and LCMs came ashore. From them, infantry jumped onto the beach. Humvees, M113A3 APCs, and M2A3 Bradleys also drove ashore from them. Multiple Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ships and Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships could be seen further out at sea still disgorging LCUs, LCACs, and LCMs. Issac was among the infantry inside the M2A3 Bradleys coming ashore. He was part of the mechanized rifle company of the 2nd Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment. The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team was the first Army unit to land on Elven shores. More Army units were coming but there was a limited number of military transport ships. A lot would have to come by civilian contracted ships. Jaonor, Elven Nation Johnson shook his head. Two towns of hell and we have to fight our way through a major port city now. This is going to be a pain in the ass. The populace is just too hostile. I would prefer fighting the Taliban than this. Blake frowned. Then why are we attacking a major port city? Seems like the Army is using civilian contractors to get more things ashore. The civilian ships dont have amphibious capabilities. They need a port. Ah, the fucking Army. Makes sense. We are definitely not going to be able to do this by ourselves. A brigade combat team from the 1st Armored is coming to assist. They should have already landed. ???, Elven Nation Tarron frowned as the officers of his General Staff bickered about his decision yesterday. He had no intention to intervene. Yet. The voices of his generals mixed together. It was hard to distinguish who was speaking what but it was clear what they were saying. I protest this! We will be abandoning the civilians if we do! To lose so much land is ridiculous! The civilians are doing a worthy sacrifice. Even to a limited degree, we will still be assisting them. Do you dare question our leader?! But for us to run away is undignified! Dignity or not, it''s important to ensure the survival of the nation. This isnt a fight for survival, we just have to find a way to beat them back! The civilians that make up this nation are the nation. To abandon them is to abandon this nation! Then they would understand that they have to do this. They are fighting for themselves! We must reconsolidate our forces. We barely have a chain of command left. Sounding an all retreat to regroup and reorganize is important. It isnt an all retreat. There are units that have been specifically commanded to continue resisting. We need to delay the enemy whilst we retreat. Tarron coughed and the room fell silent. I understand your concerns but my decision is final. We will conduct a retreat with some left behind to delay the enemy. The civilians must also fight for their country. 0206 May 15th, 2020 CE 0403 Sun 45th, 196 AE Nythnas Forest, Elven Nation. The Nythnas Forest was a small forest that was only a few miles away from the sea. It was beside a major road that led to the Port City of Filanneas. In the forest, two elves sat on rocks and pointed at the map they laid out on the ground. Around them multiple tents were set up and two Knights sat idle nearby. A few magitracks and magitrucks were scattered around. They were what remained of the 29th Magipanzer Division. They were mostly survivors from the 13th Tracked Infantry Regiment and 4th Magipanzer Regiment. Colonel Taenaran Elafaren of the 4th Magipanzer Regiment laid out his plan. Our recon forces have reported that we have human forces advancing through here. The suns going down soon. A night attack would be able to catch them off guard. We are well hidden, they wouldnt even know what happened before it''s too late. Major Allisa Krisjor of the 13th Tracked Infantry Regiment nodded. We will form a line on this edge of the forest right beside the road. A Knight will stay there with its engines turned off. Once the human convoy reaches the end of our line, we will all open fire. The Knight will come out from the back of the convoy and block their retreat. Just a textbook ambush. Nothing complicated. Sounds good. 25 minutes later Taenaran crouched down beside Allisa. This is perfect. The moon isnt bright today. We are completely concealed. The elves occupied a stretch of forest that bordered the road. Only the sound of crickets could be heard as they waited silently in the darkness. It wasnt long before they heard a whirring sound. The gunner in the lead Abrams spoke up. <<>> The lead Abrams came to a halt. An elf observed the human convoy. He saw the lead magipanzer suddenly halt. He whispered to the soldier beside him. They stopped. Why did they stop? Did they see us? They couldnt have. Its even hard to see them. Gunshots and explosions came over them. A shout came from somewhere.The Knight has been destroyed! How did they see us?! Retreat! Get deeper into the forest. They can''t get us in this dark. Their second Knight came out a mile down the road in front of the lead Abram. It fired a shot. The driver tried to back up the Abrams but it only started circling right. The track is damaged! <<>> The second Abrams in the convoy pulled off to the side of the road and aimed towards the Knight. A shot destroyed the Knight. Issac snored with his arms crossed and head leaning back against the metal wall of the crew compartment of the Bradley. He was shaken awake by his staff sergeant, Jacob who had been sitting beside him. We found a bunch of elves trying to ambush us. Get your NVG and repare to get out. Because of his sore neck, Issac shook his head from left to right. <<>> The Abrams and Bradleys swiveled toward the forest. The .50 cals on the Abrams and 25 mm chain gun on the Bradley opened up. Heavy machine gunfire came from the elves. <<>> Three magitracks laid down heavy machine gun fire at the Bradleys and Abrams. The magibullets flashed through the air like bolts of electricity. They pinged off of the surfaces of the American armored vehicles. Using thermals, the Abrams and Bradleys could clearly see the magitracks. Rounds from a Bradleys chain gun punctured holes into one of the magitracks which blew up a second after. The remaining two magitracks were quickly dealt with by the Abrams. The rapid fire of machine guns died down. With their front facing the forest, the back doors of the Bradleys opened. Issac and his squad ran out. They positioned themselves besides their Bradley and towards the forest before opening up. Jacob yelled. We are moving up. Be careful. Its vital that we clear them out. Dont want an ambush happening because we left a couple of them. A bullet whizzed past and someone cussed. Open fire! The elves started panicking once more when the humans seemed to know where they were. "How can they see us... AGHHH." "Shoot back!" "I can''t see them!" Retreating back to the camp, Allisa shouted at Taenaran. "They can see us at night!" Taenaran threw his hands up in disbelief. "How!? Are they even humans!?" "I don''t know sir! They are coming!" "Get to the trucks we need to get out of here! I''m not fighting monsters who can see at night." The Bradleys and Abrams, supported by the infantry, advanced deeper into the forest. They soon came upon a clearing that had a few tents set up. A large amount of bullets started whizzing past the infantry. Many pinged off of the Abrams and Bradleys. Issac got his back to a tree. Someone shouted out. Im hit! Issac could see elves piling onto their magitrucks. A few elves stood in the open, firing their rifles and submachine guns. The Abrams opened up on the magitrucks while the Bradleys ripped apart the elves in the open. Issac peeked out of his cover and shot the nearest elf. He watched as a magitruck exploded from being hit by an HE shot from an Abrams. Bodies of the elves in the back of that magitruck were flung around. Some laid burning on the ground. The fighting soon died down. <<>> A few minutes later Get the maintenance platoon up here! One of Grizzly 2-2s tracks is bust. An engineer studied the broken track. Staff Sergeant Harry Bellau looked at the engineer. Is it bad? Shouldnt take long to fix. Quite lucky. Its only the track that broke. The wheels are fine The convoy stayed halted on the road to deal with the damage suffered. It wasnt long before they started moving again. ???, Elven Nation Tarron walked into the office of the Advancement Department. He walked up to Illrune Heleren, the new Head of Advancement. Illrune was the Vice Head of Advancement until Ruehnar met his demise when an American bomb struck the High Command Office. Is it almost ready? Illrune nodded. Yes but there is going to be an issue when it comes to crossing bridges. Its too heavy even for our metal ones. Then just go around them. Its also excruciatingly slow. Tarron frowned. I dont care as long as it can reach the Americans. Understood sir. Tarron walked out into the hallway. There, Anafalen ran to him. My Leader. Tarron raised his eyebrow. What is it Anfalen? I I dont believe we can win sir Tarron laughed. I know the situation looks bleak but dont worry. The Americans technology is much too superior to ours. I have been compiling and studying a list of the Americans capabilities. They are not a few years ahead. Based on our past speed of development, the Americans are at least 300 years ahead. Remember, it took us 150 years to get from our first magipanzers and submarines to the current ones we have. Tarron nodded and smiled. I agree, but you see, the speed of our development is increasing. Our budget has become more and more focused on technological development. In just a few years, we created a plane superior to the propeller plane. Although it couldnt beat the Americans, I have just unleashed my newest weapon on the Americans. This one should have an effect. But sir, isnt it too late? Tarron waved him off. Nonsense. Elves are a superior species. I believe in our inner superiority. We have the resolve and confidence to fight on. The humans will tire out one day and that shall be our victory. Sir, resolve and confidence cant win a war. Tarron frowned. Your continued opposition upsets me Anfalen. You should watch what you say. Anfalen froze. ... understood, sir Good. Good. Also, Anfalen, just know that you are very important to me. It would sadden me if something happened to you. Tarron walked away. Chapter 75 – Human Slaves RonTheBlackCat Hmmm... I guess now is a good time to talk about my current situation. I have stopped working at the restaurant that I was working at so now I have much more time to dedicate to writing this. However, I will have to go to college soon. My move-in day is in the middle of August. I do believe that I will have time to write this. College is probably gonna be busy for me but I''m also very busy at home. My mom keeps on asking me to do random things so I have very limited time to write this. Hopefully, in college, I will have much more free time (surprisingly, this might actually be true). I''m also getting a new computer soon so hurray! (My current computer is like 6-7 years old) Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0245 May 15th, 2020 CE 0422 Sun 45th, 196 AE On a road in the Elven Nation Inside his M2A3 BFV, Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Linda, commander of the 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment of the 1st ABCT, listened over the radio to the shouting of Lieutenant Colonel Rogers, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Armored Regiment. <<>> Two M2A3 Bradleys, a section from the 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, traveled speedily down the road. They came to an abrupt halt as something appeared ahead. <<>> Soldiers came out of the back of the Bradleys and aimed their guns at the car. One of them waved at the car. The car came to an abrupt halt and quickly turned around. Seems to be a civilian. I do hope they havent invented car IEDs. Although there were highways, most of the roads were usually devoid of cars. The elves that they had encountered so far have all ran away in fear. Outside the Port City of Filanneas, Elven Nation 30 minutes later The two Bradleys came to a halt once again. The lead Bradleys driver looked up at his commander. So this is the city? Yep. There doesnt seem to be a military presence. Oh wait Im seeing sandbags. Also armed civilians. Well, I heard that the partisans are giving the Marines hell. Theres a lot of them too. I can see that. Guess they are waiting for us. How much you want to bet that those cars were scouts? Lets keep our distance. Heard they got some sort of RPG. Port City of Filanneas The water from the faucet ran onto Renout Hanekins hands as he scrubbed the dishes of his master, an old and rich male elf. Elves could be heard everywhere outside of the house he was in. They were all talking, walking around, and setting up structures. The entire city was in an uproar. Renout feared for his life since every elf seemed to be armed with weapons. Renout glanced over at a piece of paper on the kitchen counter. He was pretty sure this was what convinced his master to buy him. He couldnt read it but the picture on it clearly showed a human acting like a butler to an elf lounging around. Every Elf A King! Buy your own personal human servant! Assign it to any menial job. Make it do anything you want. It will serve your every need. You will not be penalized for torturing, raping, or killing your human. Prices vary. As Renout set down the plates, he looked around. He was alone in the kitchen but he didnt dare run away. Some people had foolishly tried to run thinking that it was easy since security was lax. All of them were caught and slowly tortured to death. He didnt want to suffer a similar fate. 0327 May 15th, 2020 CE 0443 Sun 45th, 196 AE Outside the Port City of Filanneas Blake gazed at the Port City of Filanneas. The tallest building in the city seemed to be just three stories. If not for the number of buildings, it would have felt like a small town. Blake sighed and looked at Finn. If this was anything like the last two towns, this entire city is going to be hostile. Is there no way we can just flatten parts of it with artillery and airstrikes? Well, Im not ranked high enough to decide that. Blake shrugged. Just asking for an opinion. Hm... Probably not. Its too dense. Artillery is out of the question and any bombing run, no matter how accurate, will cause collateral damage. But we are pretty sure that most of the elves will be hostile. Finn shook his head. Not a good enough reason for those that are watching. Pretty sure we have journalists embedded with us. Curtis definitely isnt going to like this battle. Im gonna need to refer Curtis to the psychologist soon. Pretty sure we have one attached with us. Hes probably gonna be beyond my help if this gets worse. He seems back to his normal self as of right now. Hes quite a soft guy. Hes still a Marine. Jacob got out of the Bradley and turned to Issac and the rest of the squad. We will be advancing into the city at 1300. Issac glanced at a person getting out of a Humvee behind them. The person was wearing a blue-covered vest. Ah. The medias here. Port City of Filanneas Renout kept his head down as his master walked by and glanced at the dishes. Now take out the garbage. He was glad that his master spoke to him in Common. Even though his master knew how to speak Common, he had been hit multiple times for not understanding the Elven language. Renout walked out of the house carrying a bag of garbage. Seeing the armed elves walking by, he wanted to shrink himself so he couldnt be seen. Continuing on, he then saw an elf family walking by. A mother and father watching their daughter prancing around. His heart hurt a bit. He missed and worried for the well-being of his younger sister, mother, and father. They had been separated when they were processed and given different jobs. His family came from a quaint rural town. By luck or not, his town was in the area where the elves started taking slaves. If he had lived closer to the ocean, he and his family would most likely have died. He had seen the corpses of the people of the towns closer to the ocean. However, if he had lived farther, he probably would still be home tending to his familys farm. His stomach growled thinking of the food he would be eating back home. His master barely fed him. But he preferred this over the hard labor he would have endured if he wasnt selected to be a servant. The humans are here! They have magipanzers. Prepare to defend our homes! Dont let these humans through! Two elven soldiers ran past shouting. Renout watched them run deeper into the city. He remembered that there used to be a lot of soldiers here but most of them disappeared for some reason. All around him, other elves started running in the other direction. They seemed to tighten their hold on their weapons. For some reason, Renout felt a bit of hope in his heart. Surrounding the city, elements of the 2nd Marine Division and 1st ABCT prepared to launch an assault on the city. Yarrin, Magus Imperium M4 Shermans drove onto the Magus transport ship. American infantry on the dock watched in curiosity at the procession of what was the workhorse of the US Army in World War 2. Well thank god the Magus arent using our ships. We already have enough trouble transporting our own stuff over. Quite interesting isnt it. An M4 Sherman going off to war. I wonder which variant it is. Seems to be an Easy Eight. My great grandfather drove one of those. Near the center of the Elven Nation On the commanders hatch of her Knight, Ara took in the view of the mountain range. Some of the mountains reached the sky. A few hours ago, she had run into infantry from another unit and re-established contact with what was left of the High Command. It seemed that her plans were almost exactly the same as the orders. Galath Mountain, Elven Nation The Galath Base was a large Elven Air Force and Army base cut into the mountain. It took 50 years to complete and was protected by a few thousand feet of stone. Magipanzers, magitrucks, small arms, and other weapons were stored in it. What was left of the entire Air Force was also there. It numbered less than 50 aircraft. The base even had living quarters for the soldiers and a network of bunkers jutting out of the mountain. Unlike most of the situation outside, the base was calm and hadnt been attacked. The only difference was the large influx of troops. Thousands of elven soldiers and vehicles were pouring into the mountains. Some set up their own bases while others came to the Galath Base. Colonel General Elfred Adrora shook his head at his aide. I cant accommodate all of this. Get me in contact with the Leader. Chapter 76 – Battle of Filanneas RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0700 May 15th, 2020 CE 0630 Sun 45th, 196 AE Port City of Filanneas An M1A2 Abrams from the 1st ABCT took the lead. Bullets pinged off of the Abrams. Rockets landed on it and exploded. The machine guns on the Abrams fired at the shooting elves. <<>> An AH-1Z Viper flew over and hovered a few yards behind the lead Abrams. Its 20 mm three-barrelled rotary gun opened up on the elves in the buildings. It raked the windows of the side of the building. Bricks and glass were ripped apart as bullets went through them. The Abrams fired an M908 Obstacle Reduction round at the barricade blocking the road and moved forwards. Bullets and rockets hit the front of the tank but it shrugged them off. The remote-controlled .50 cal machine gun on the commanders hatch of the Abrams, a part of the TUSK (The Urban Survival Kit), swiveled to the building to its right and opened fire. An elf shouted in panic. Its not doing anything! Why isnt it?! The elves watched as the rockets from their PAMs seemingly did nothing to the human magipanzer. A chopping noise was heard permeating the air. An elf in the window on a building pointed towards the hovering object. What is that? Suddenly bullets rained down on them. GAHHHH! We have its sides exposed! Fire down onto it. Elves came out of the windows beside the Abrams. One of the elves readied their PAM. The machine gun on the turret of the magipanzer turned towards the elves at the window. The machine gun is turning by itself! What is this magic?! The machine gun opened up. Convoys of American units moved into the surrounded city from all sides. The entire city basically had its back to an ocean. We got the windows suppressed! Clear the insides! Blake threw a flashbang into the building. It detonated and he rushed inside with Curtis and 2 other Marines of the squad right behind. Three armed civilians occupied the first floor of the building and were quickly killed. They moved upstairs and quickly cleared half of the top floor. Curtis opened the door and stopped in his tracks. Blake, who was behind him, shouted at his sudden halt. Curtis! What are you doing!? A shot from the elf childs pistol hit Curtis in the leg and he collapsed. Fuck! Curtiss been hit! Blake rushed forward and shot the boy. Goddamit Curtis! Why didnt you shoot?! On the other side of the city Issac opened the door with his finger on the trigger. He aimed his M4 into the room. He nearly shot the cowering figure who had their hands up. Issac was somewhat surprised to see a surrendering elf. He shouted to the others behind him. We got an elf surrendering. This was only the third one. Issac slowly moved towards the figure with his gun raised. He soon noticed that the figure had human ears. Its a human! A few blocks away Renout didnt really know what to do. A heavy amount of gunfire could be heard outside. He hid in the room that was assigned to him and prayed that his master didnt show up to shoot him. If the elves were losing, he would likely be executed to prevent him from becoming free. He also hoped that the invaders were humans. 0824 May 15th, 2020 CE 0712 Sun 45th, 196 AE A very old-looking elf sat on a small wooden box outside of his house. He smoked a pipe. A shout came from the window of the second floor of his house. Feno! Get inside! He continued smoking. Feno! Feno glanced up at his much younger friend. Im 197. I dont have a family. I dont care about your silly little war. You are going to die out there! If I die, I die. I will welcome a bullet anytime. Not like Im going to live any longer than a few more years. Fine! The window above slammed shut. A few minutes later Feno sat there as bullets whizzed around him. However, none of them hit him. Either the humans had terrible accuracy or they didnt care about him. Feno blew a puff of smoke. A soldier looked down his scope and stopped. Theres an old-looking elf sitting outside of the house. Is he armed? No. Hes just smoking a pipe. The squad leader hesitated. Almost all of the elves that they had encountered put up a fight or were armed. He was worried that the old elf was hiding a grenade and would detonate it if they got close. Dont shoot him then. Focus fire on the armed ones. Stay clear of him though and keep an eye on him. House to house combat raged on. Rogers conversed with one of his company commanders. <<>> 0833 May 15th, 2020 CE 0716 Sun 45th, 196 AE An M1A2 Abrams aimed at one of the houses where a lot of small arms fire had been coming from. An M908 punched a hole in the wall of the house. Within seconds, the entire house collapsed into a heap of stone. A Hellfire missile from an AH-1Z blew open the top floor of a building. Its rotary cannon swept the inside and shredded the surviving elves. 0955 May 15th, 2020 CE 0757 Sun 45th, 196 AE Brandon McKey stood next to an Humvee. Holding a microphone, he looked at the camera. As you can see behind me, intense fighting has broken out in this elven port city. US forces are trying to secure a port for ships to dock at but have encountered heavy resistance. I have been informed that this isnt the elven military but armed civilians who are fighting. A large explosion was heard in the background and Brandon looked behind. A building was just blown up in the city. Not sure if it was done by the elven civilians or US forces. Fighting has been going on for the last three hours with no end in sight. 1108 May 15th, 2020 CE 0834 Sun 45th, 196 AE The sun started to set but the fighting raged on. Alberys platoon came to a halt and pulled back for a moment of rest and to quickly eat their dinners. Blake leaned against a wall as he munched on his MRE. They are arming their children now. Curtis was shot in the leg by an elven kid. Hes doing fine currently. Finn sighed. Blake continued. Also we found a few humans who had been kept as slaves. Well, good thing we didnt blow this place up. Blake shrugged. Probably acceptable casualties at this point. Finn raised one of his eyebrows. This isnt a video game. There are elves who dont want to fight. You got quite a few surrendering didnt you? They were just forced into doing it so they werent lynched by their own people. I know but one day of fighting and we have already lost around 30 men in total fighting for just this one city. In wars like these, its hard to distinguish whos good and whos bad. Nothing different from what we experienced in Afghanistan or Iraq. Blake felt irked by that. Its different! It totally is! You know it too! We were in Afghanistan. It wasnt this bad! It was never this bad! Not every single Afghan took up arms against us. It was only a few baddies hidden among a majority of innocent people. The opposite is true here. The majority of elves here are out to kill us. Do you really want to forsake those who are innocent? Stop living in your dream world Finn! Im not living in my dream world. I know what war is. Its suffering. Its pain. But to resort to killing innocent people Blake interrupted in anger. The lives we save by bombing this entire place to oblivion will outweigh the innocents that will be killed! Finn took a deep breath. Even if we argue about it here, what will this even change? We are mere grunts. Blake sat down. Those damn elves. Annallee snapped her fingers. This is the best time to strike. The fighting has died down and the darkness will cover our movements. The four other elves nodded. Annallee looked at one of the elves. Goras. You have gathered the explosives right? 5 bundles of explosive mana. Enough to destroy any magipanzers. If we stick them onto the human magipanzers sides, we are sure to destroy them. Ready? Annallee swept her determined eyes across the four other elves. They nodded. Lets go. The atmosphere outside was tense. Many battle-weary elves rested here near the front. The wounded were also being tended here. Avoiding the streets where intense fighting was occurring and using their knowledge of the alleys to navigate, they were able to move past the frontline. It was a perfect night with the moon shrouded by clouds. Annalle stopped. This should be human territory. Keep away from any lights and stay in the dark. Before they knew it, flashes started and the sound of gunfire erupted. Goras was shot in the head and fell backward. Annalle panicked. What!? How did they see us? She was soon cut down with the others. Issac looked over at a dark corner. I think I saw some movement through my NVGs. One of his squadmates confirmed it. Elves, they are carrying weapons. One of them seems to have bundles of dynamite. Jacob looked and confirmed before nodding. You are all free to fire. Chapter 77 – A Literal Slugfest RonTheBlackCat Read some of the recent comments. I would like to thank you all for the supportive comments and critiques! Also, my college is making me write an essay before class even starts XD woe is me. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1350 May 15th, 2020 CE 0955 Sun 45th, 196 AE Port City of Filanneas Issac snorted in annoyance. Seems to be a bunch of elven civilians who tried to blow us up with dynamite. Issacs team leader, Andrew Bennet shook his head. Sheesh, we cant get any rest. Corey Sharp, the team leader of the other team of the squad, commented. Well, at least most of the fighting has died down. The elves cant see us. Jacob shrugged and waved forward. Still good to have a technological advantage. Come on, let''s go. As they walked down the road, Issac spoke again. Do you know what''s surprising? Andrew looked at Issac. What? We havent seen a single elven military personnel. I think the fucking elven civilians got abandoned. Hm. Probably. Unless they are all fighting in plain clothes. Jacob nodded. They seem more like civilians. Heck they dont seem to even know our weapon capabilities Issac chuckled. Do they even know they got abandoned? Well, they are probably so fanatic they dont even care that their entire military abandoned them. The fighting had died down so Feon decided to go on his usual nightly stroll. His friend had died and he was all alone. He walked past a few human soldiers wearing strange things on their heads that covered their eyes. One of the human soldiers spoke to the other. Hey, arrest that old elf. He hasnt done anything wrong though? Who knows, he could be hiding something. Im not taking any chances. Feon only stared as the human approached him with a gun pointed at him. Feon raised his hands slowly. The human grabbed him. A few hours earlier He shook his head as he stared at his dead friend. He didnt bend down since he knew he probably wont be able to stand back up that easily. You would have probably lived if you didn''t decide to fight. He was surprised that the humans didnt kill him and just ignored him. He thought he would have been surely dead by now. If not for a human actually killing him, then by an accidental shot or stray bullet. Present The city was completely pitch black, the magibatteries that powered the city had been destroyed during the battle. About a few decades ago, large magibattaries were built outside of cities. They were fueled daily by elves who had time and wanted some money. Elves were paid every time they came to fuel the magibatteries and there would usually be many filled magibatteries in reserve. Although they were not targeted by airstrikes since they seemed to be just large metal boxes, the battle had destroyed many of them. Using the light given off by those with fire magic, nurses and doctors tended to the wounded. Half a street was filled with the wounded. An uninjured elf ran into the street and started shouting. Get out of here! Go! A nearby nurse confronted him. What? Why? We have a lot of injured here. He pointed back to where he came from. The humans are advancing. The nurse blinked in surprise. Its the middle of the night. I know. They dont seem bothered by it and they can see us. We tried to ambush them using the darkness but it didnt work. Hearing this, the nurses and doctor started rushing. Move these patients! Come quickly! Get the stretchers! Suddenly, they heard a chopping noise. The uninjured elf shouted in a panic. Take cover! Human aircraft! The pilot looked at the ground from his AH-1Z Viper. <<>> A rocket shot towards the Viper. The pilots eyes widened. Shit! RPG! The Viper banked to the left and the rocket narrowly missed. Another rocket flew towards them and missed also. <<>> The Viper reeled back and turned. On the ground Finn looked around at his weary squad. We are only a few blocks into the city. At this point, it''s gonna take us a week to reach the center. One of his squadmates shrugs. The elves would lose their will to fight sooner or later. If we deal enough casualties, they will probably give up. "I hate fanatics." "You can say that again." 1444 May 15th, 2020 CE 1022 Sun 45th, 196 AE Outside of the city Brandon waved to the city behind him. The sound of gunfire made it hard to hear what he was saying. You can see that even during the night, the battle continues to be raged. Here I have been told that we have a distinct advantage with night vision goggles. Most of the soldiers around me have them on. Im currently hoping to be able to get into the city but have been stopped from doing so. Flashes of light came from the city. An explosion rocked the sky. Brandon looked behind him as he saw soldiers pointing towards the area. Oh my god. Is that a helicopter? A few minutes earlier An elf peeked out the window. He had been able to remain hidden in his house without the humans finding him. He looked up into the sky and tightly held his PAM. An AH-1Z hovered in the sky above the city. The battle raged a couple blocks further into the city. <<>> The Viper started spinning out of control as its tail rotor was in flames. It crashed into a building beside it. Washington D.C. 30 casualties in a day for a couple of blocks of a city? We also lost an attack helicopter?! On fucking national television!? General Quincy Griffith spoke in a raspy voice. The elves are fighting for every single street and almost every house. We have pulled back our AH-1Zs. He paused. We will continue taking heavy casualties if we don''t do anything, Mr. President. I know what you are thinking, General. We are not leveling the city or any other city as a matter of fact. We arent there to do an extermination. Im allowing precision strikes on any houses with hostiles in them. This wont be enough, sir. Give me the authorization to bomb the city at will and I guarantee our casualties would hit rock bottom. I will not approve that. "Sir. My men are dying here." "I know. I''m the Commander in Chief. Those are my men too." Port City of Filanneas Fighting had stretched further into the night. The elves gave much more ground because they were exhausted and couldnt see that well in the darkness. Elves that tried to use fire magic to see were instantly shot. A Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) set down his laser designator. Im painting the house. Keep it on there. Intense amounts of gunfire had been pouring out from the house and with the lack of support, the Marines havent been able to push through it. A jet zipped through the sky above Brandon. A pilot surveyed the ground as his AV-8B Harrier II got closer and closer to the city. The AV-8B Harrier II is quite an old plane and has been with the Marines since 1985. However, it was the only jet in the US arsenal other than the F-35B that could do vertical takeoff. The last of the Harrier IIs were planned to be retired by 2025. A GBU-12 dropped out from the Harrier over the city. It started directing itself towards the laser. A blast soon destroyed the building that the laser had pointed at. A group of elves stood together conversing with each other with worried tones. Human soldiers stood around them on guard. One of the human soldiers talked to the other. Why do we have so many elves here? Some of them surrendered and some of them didnt even fight. Why are we rounding up the ones who didnt even fight. Precautions. They all seem to be fanatics. So how is this gonna work? From what I have heard, we are gonna assign them houses away from the front and keep an eye on them. Keeps them safe from the fighting and allows us to keep ourselves safe. What about the slaves we freed? Where are they? They will also be assigned housing but there will be helicopters coming after the battle is over to evac them. 1048 Sun 45th, 196 AE A prison in the Magus Imperium Simon sat in his prison cell hungry. He wasnt sure what the time was since he had no windows in his cell but he was pretty sure it was night. The humans had given him very little food. But he was among the lucky ones. He hasnt been beaten by the guard yet. A lot of elves in the prison had bruises on them. The prison was also spacious enough to handle almost all the elves so it wasn''t cramped. He read a newspaper that was given to him. Although newspapers were published every day, the guards only handed them out once in a while. Sometimes the news was old. This time, he had a recent paper. Emblazoned on the top of the front page in the human Imperial language was Invasion of the Elven Nation has Begun!. It talked about how the US and Magus forces are landing in the Elven Nation. As he read, he wondered when he could return home. Although he was single, he still had a mother and father home. He was greatly worried about them, especially in this situation. Mountain Ranges near the Galath Mountain In the darkness of the night, elves moved about making fortifications and placing sandbags. Anti-magipanzer thauguns were put into fortified positions. Anti-aircraft thauguns kept an eye on the sky. Every route into the mountains was being blocked with layers and layers of defenses. In green areas, leaves and grass were thrown onto large weapons. In the more frigid and snowy areas, white-colored sheets were placed on. Chapter 78 – Protests RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the one-day delay, the weather was bad yesterday. Quite a big thunderstorm in my area. Also, there will be a ONE-WEEK HIATUS because I will be MOVING TO MY COLLEGE DORM (Sorry about the capitalization but some people just don''t read and will ask where the next chapter is next week). Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 https://youtu.be/JDVT-8tUfiE - Ronald Reagen Speech 0733 May 16th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. Ronell threw the Presidents Daily Brief on the table after reading through it. Why am I being told that people are organizing protests against the war? There seem to be people who really like elves and see it as something like their fantasy dream come true. So they cant bear seeing elves getting killed. Weird. But it shouldnt cause protest movements that number in the hundreds in some places. There are also some who are sympathetic to the elves and pity them. We even have people complaining about our technological advantage over them and how it''s not fair. There have even been comparisons to Europeans and Native Americans. Ronell stayed silent for a bit before taking a deep breath. They are fucking Nazis. They literally want to wipe out and enslave all of humanity. There are people who are calling it fake news and propaganda. You know, sometimes, I lose hope in humanity. And this is one of the times. 1022 May 16th, 2020 CE 1322 May 16th, 2020 CE San Francisco, United States of America There is currently a major protest ongoing in San Francisco. You can see it right now behind me. A few hundred people are marching in protest of the current war against the elves.. On the screen, a news reporter can be shown with people crowding the streets behind him. Signs that say Save the Elves, Stop Killing Elves!, Stop Massacring the Natives!, and Pull Out Now can be seen among the crowd. A couple of people held megaphones and shouted their messages. The news reporter got the attention of one of the protesters. Sir. Im with Channel 29 News. May I ask why you are protesting the war against the elves? He pressed the microphone towards the protester. Im sick and tired of the government getting us into one war after another. What do you think about the reports and evidence that indicate that the elves have massacred and enslaved native humans? The protester started to look agitated. Thats clearly propaganda by the government. Dont you see? The government does this every time it wants people to support their stupid war! WMDs for Iraq. 9/11 for Afghanistan. Now, these made-up massacre stories for the elves. Fake! All fake! The people are sheep! They have to wake up! So you dont believe that 9/11 happened? No. Of course, it did. It was an inside job. The government did it themselves in order to get us into a war to get oil. Another protester came by and overheard the last few bits of the conversation. Thats the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Oh. Are you one of them government collaborators? Must be a spy. Hey guys! This girl is a government spy! Looking offended, the girl replied. Im here protesting this war just like you. The news reporter instantly turned his attention to her. And what are your thoughts on this? Oh. Im a pacifist. This is just like what happened between the Europeans and Native Americans. I want to prevent a repeat of that. We can negotiate with the elves to find a peaceful solution to our problems. Warfare isnt the solution to everything. You have heard of reports of elves enslaving the native humans, correct? There have been comparisons of the actions of the elves to Nazis. I think the elves and us humans have gotten off of the wrong foot here. We have shown the elves our technological superiority and pushed them out of the Magus. The war should be over by now. I dont believe we need to actually invade the elves homeland. We can coexist. We just need to talk it out with each other. It was the perfect opportunity to do so when the elves retreated back to their homeland. I fear it is a bit too late now though. Thank you for your comments. The reporter turned to the camera. Although folks here seem to have a wide range of opinions. They all agree on the fact that the war should end... 1520 May 15th, 2020 CE 1040 Sun 45th, 196 AE Port City of Filanneas On the road was the flaming wreck of an AH-1Z. Surprisingly, it was still somewhat intact. The rotor blades and tail boom were completely gone but the front suffered only a few crumples. Marines started showing up. One of the Marines got near the cockpit that had both the copilot and pilot in it. The pilot is still alive! Get him out of there. Good thing he crashed within friendly territory. Now quickly, I dont like these flames. The commanding Marine turned his head. We need a medic here! Further in the city Renout cowered in his room as a large number of gunshots rang out very close by. Flashes of light could be seen through his window. He peered through the windows to barely see weirdly dressed beings in the darkness. They had strange things covering their eyes. One of them instantly noticed him and raised their gun at him. Renout shot his hands up. Dont shoot! Im human! Renout hoped his words could save him and that those strange beings were human too. The beings lowered their guns and approached him. Human? The strange being checked out his ears as Renout quickly nodded. The strange being kindly smiled. We are here to help. The battle raged through the night and US forces made significant gains in the city. With the expectation of a few left behind, almost all the elves were civilians. There were veterans but there was nobody to coordinate or lead them. They had no ability to launch a counterattack or to organize a steadfast defense. However, they defended every single street and many fought to the bitter end. Every few yards, the US forces met heavy resistance. However, any defenses that the infantry couldnt get through were cleared with precision strikes from the sky. The elves were completely unprepared for a night battle and were caught off guard on how well the Americans were able to fight in the night. 0044 May 16th, 2020 CE 0322 Sun 46th, 196 AE By morning, the infantry could nearly see the port from the streets. Blake looked at Finn. Fucking hell. We are nearly there. This took much less than what you said it would take. Someone further away shouted. They are surrendering! A group of ten elves slowly walked towards them with their hands in the air. It was the largest amount of elves that had surrendered together. Blake, Finn, and the others kept their guns ready. Drop all of your weapons! Rifles, pistols, and grenades clattered onto the floor. A soldier closed in on the elves. Stay calm and do not resist. You will be searched. Finn relaxed. He was quite glad that the language barrier here wasn''t that bad when compared to Afghanistan. Latin wasn''t really a hard language to learn. Over 60% of English words are Latin-based. Quite a few of the soldiers had picked Latin as a second language during their high school years so they were fast to pick it up too. Twenty minutes later Fighting still continued as they moved ever closer to the port. Blake witnessed more and more elves surrendering. Finn looked over a corner. Seems like we got a few more surrendering. A group of elves walked towards them with their hands in the air. One of the elves threw something at their feet. Grenade! Get down. Motherfucker! Blake dived to the ground. An explosion rocked his world. Getting up and dusting himself off, Blake took a look at where the elves were. Body parts and a pool of red blood were all that was left of the four elves. Blake shook his head. Fucking hell. Good thing Curtis isnt here. He wont like the sight of this. They are fucking suicide bombing. Finn looked around. Everybody fine?" All good! Well good thing they suck at suicide bombing. Finn took a swig from his canteen. He leaned beside a crate. Black smoke billowed into the sky from the city. Finally. Its mostly over. Blake sat down on the gray concrete of the port. Where has Curtis been anyways. I think in the rear. He might get discharged for mental health issues. He really didnt take this well. I do hope hes fine. Two MV-22 Ospreys came over the horizon and got closer and closer. They started landing onto the ground outside of the city. Grass billowed as the powerful rotor created gusts of wind. The Magusian civilians, freed from their slavery were led towards the Opsreys. They formed a line behind the opened backdoors of the Ospreys. The Magusians murmured amongst themselves while looking at the strange aircraft. One of the Magusians, Frery Raoulet, eyed the strange aircraft with a sparkle in his eyes. Interesting. Two propellers on the wings. And they can fold up and down An American soldier shouted to them at the door of the Osprey. Lets go. Lets go. Get on and make yourself comfortable. We are bringing yall back home. Renout sat down on a seat in the weird aircraft. He heaved a sigh of relief and couldnt even believe all this had happened. It felt akin to a dream. He hoped that his parents and sister were okay. 1534 May 16th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. One of Ronells senior advisors for the 2020 elections, Felipe Tiffany, entered the Oval Office. Ronell looked up. Ah, Felipe, how can I help you? Felipe had a concerned look on his face. A new third party just formed Mr.President. Hm? They call themselves the Peace Party Ronell sighed. Lemme guess. They oppose the current war against the elves? Well, in addition to that, their website states that they are angry and shocked at the number of wars we have started only two years after appearing in the new world. Mr.President. To be truthful, I do also find it uncomfortable. We have been fighting so many wars. Well, we have to find a place in this world. It had been quite hostile to us. Anyways, its only a third party. Shouldnt be that concerning. True but it has gained some popularity. Even though not large enough to be a concern yet. We will have to keep an eye on them. Ronell frowned. How am I doing in the primaries for my party? Still in the lead? You are nearly guaranteed to be the candidate. Whos in the lead for the other party right now? Still Mack Snyder? Yes. He probably will be the candidate for the opposing party as predicted. Has he said anything about his policy on wars? Not yet. Hes probably still gauging which position would benefit him. Well, Im already this deep in. Our position is that we will fight wars when we have to. Felipe nodded. Thats basically what most of us have decided too. Howre the polls? What are they predicting right now? Its gonna be a close race, sir. Just like four years ago I guess. Chapter 79 – Advance RonTheBlackCat College is tiring XD. Still trying to adjust. The cover photo on RoyalRoad got taken down so I''m currently trying to draw one to replace it. And I can''t think of any good titles for this chapter XD. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0155 May 16th, 2020 CE 0357 Sun 46th, 196 AE Port City of Filanneas Jacob stared out at the horizon whilst standing and carrying his gun. I see the first cargo ship. Issac walked over. The port seems to be a bit small. As long as it can offload, we should be fine. Issac glanced over at Jacob. Say, why did we even need a port? Couldnt they have just offloaded on the beach? We will be dropping cargo into the fucking water. These are civilian cargo ships, they cant do amphibious operations. We do have ships capable of amphibious stuff but there aren''t enough of them to keep us supplied constantly. That cargo ship should be bringing in ammunition, food, and whatnot. Everything we need. Crates of supplies came off of the cargo ship. Ammunition, food, building materials, and much more. It wasnt long before a passenger ship also showed up and started offloading people. Jacob watched as the ships offloaded. Seems like we will be getting Seabees too. What for? Modernizing the port probably. The Seabees is a nickname for the Naval Construction Battalions that formed the Naval Construction Force. In order for the port to accommodate more ships and speed up offloading, the Seabees had been ordered to modernize it. Luckily, the battle did not damage the port area at all and because it was not a port that housed Elven Navy ships, it wasnt even struck by missiles. Ocean near the Elven Nation Renout looked around as he got off the back of the aircraft. It didnt take long for him to realize that he was on a massive ship. It felt more like a metal island than a ship but it was definitely moving. The top of the ship was flat with the exception of a building to the right near the center of the ship. There seemed to be many aircraft sitting on the ship. Looking into the sea, many other ships surrounded this ship. Renout followed the others. His curiosity wore off soon. For the entire flight, he had worried about his family. That didnt change even now. He couldnt forget his sisters laughter as they played around and his parents smiling faces at the dinner table. The second Osprey soon landed on the USS Carl Vinson. Frery got off and glanced in awe around him. It didnt take him long to realize that this was an airfield. He watched as an aircraft took off. Amazing! The fact that the Americans were able to make an airfield go on sea awed him. Hearing his outburst, others turned to look at him in bemusement. Frery was sort of an outcast in his country. He was never invested in magic but much more focused on mechanical things. Of course, he wasnt being mistreated. Others were just surprised that he never tried to develop his magic skills. A uniformed person greeted them. Welcome. Im Lieutenant Commander Jensen Lowe. Does anybody here have injuries? A show of hand please. A few Magusians raised their hands. Ok, we will get you guys treated. How many of you guys are hungry? All of the Magusians raised their hands. And fed. Ok for those who are injured, please follow my friend, Petty Officer Gerald Phillips. Jensen pointed towards Gerald. He will lead you to the med bay. Once you are treated, you will join the others in the cafeteria. Everybody else, follow me. Frery was amazed as he was led through the interior of the aircraft carrier and towards the cafeteria. The interior looked so much more well-polished than the ships that the Magus Imperium have. An hour later After their meal, Jensen got all the Magusians attention and made an announcement. We will be transporting all of you via aircraft back to your country. Your government will be providing ground transportation back to your homes. They also seem to be offering relocation and support services if you have lost your homes. Im not sure about the specifics of that. You will have to ask your government. Any questions? Renout raised his hand. Jensen pointed at him. Yes? I have a family who has also been captured by the elves. Do you know if they have been rescued? Is there any way that I can find them? We have already rescued a few people but Im not exactly sure if any of them are your family. I will bring up your issue with my commander. I think it will be best if you bring it up with your government. With the others, Frery was led to the aircraft that was supposed to take them home. This aircraft disappointed him a bit. It was sleeker but still similar to a Machian bomber. The C-2 Greyhound lifted off of the aircraft carrier carrying all the Magusians. Frery had stared in wonder as the aircraft took off from a ship. A few seats down, Renout sat with an unhappy look on his face. 0224 May 16th, 2020 CE 0412 Sun 46th, 196 AE Port City Of Filanneas. Blake stood up and stretched. What do we do now? Finn glanced around the deserted street. Well, we are to garrison this city until further notice. M1A2 Abrams and Bradleys of the 1st ABCT moved in an orderly fashion out of town. Elements of the 2nd Marines also followed. An hour or so later Finn walked into a tent where the medics were tending to the wounded. How are you doing Curtis? Fine. Are you getting discharged? Not yet. Hm? Dont go assuming things. Had a long chat with the psychologist. Im staying. Im a soldier. I have an obligation to you guys. Are you sure? There was a look of determination in Curtiss eyes. Yes. Im sorry for having to deal with me. Finn sighed. Its all fine. Not everyone can handle this. You are a good man maybe too good for war. Give me another chance, Sergeant. Thats what I am doing. We have been garrisoned to protect this place until further notice. So rest up. Shouldnt be much to do for now. Surprised you havent been sent back seeing that you got shot in the leg? Curtis smiled. Didnt penetrate. Just hurt like shit. Good to hear. 0700 May 16th, 2020 CE (Central Time) Nashville, Tennessee Jack took a sip out of his coke as he watched the news. <<>> Jack switched the channel to another news network. <<>> Huh this is one of the few times that I have actually seen these two news channels kinda actually agreeing on something, Jack muttered to himself as he turned off the television. 0850 May 16th, 2020 CE 0725 Sun 46th, 196 AE A few miles further into the Elven Nation The forest soon gave way to hilly but treeless terrain. Dust came out of the back of the two Bradleys as they drove down the road. It was quite a large road and led to the next city a few hundred miles away. In the lead Bradley, the driver, without taking his eyes off of the road, spoke to his commander, Staff Sergeant Clyde McKinney. I dont feel that safe here. We are only two Bradleys. Nothing to worry about. We have an armor company right behind us and three combined arms battalions further behind. We are just scouts, we can pull back whenever things get iffy. Just continue driving down the road. Ok, sir. Stop, Clyde shouted to his driver. The two Bradleys came to a halt. Clyde looked through his imaging system and scanned the town miles in front of him. Small town. The road cuts right through it. Seems to be armed civilians again. Probably need to secure it so the main force can use this road. Clyde got on his radio. <<>> A few minutes later <<>> The four Abrams formed into a wedge formation as they drove towards the town. Rifle shots pinged off of the lead Abrams. They came to a stop. The machine guns on the Abrams opened up on the elves. The boxes and furniture that the elves were hiding behind were torn apart. The Abrams formed a column formation on the road and moved into town. <<>> << https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0936 May 16th, 2020 CE 0748 Sun 46th, 196 AE Washington DC General Griffith, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, conversed with President Hayes The towns further away from the cities have surrendered much more easily. The recon forces have been able to take them mostly by themselves. Compared to cities, its likely that they havent been bombarded constantly by propaganda. We should be able to expect only minimal resistance from them. Mr. President. We should be besieging the cities from now on. Directly assaulting them would just be a gross waste of lives when we can just force them into submission or at least weaken them through air and artillery strikes. General. We will just be engaging in genocide at that point. We will give them time and allow any civilians to leave. If there even are any that can be considered civilians. Do you really think anybody will leave? And what about the humans they are keeping as slaves? How will the media react when they learn we literally have forsaken them. It will be a humanitarian disaster. Humanitarian disaster. Boohoo. Who cares? There is no international community to criticize us anymore. Public opinion is already souring because of the large loss of life we are experiencing. Its only been a few days into the invasion and we have already suffered fifty percent of the total casualties we have suffered during the entire Gulf War. Im gonna be blamed for the entire thing, goddammit. And you can say bye to your career at that point! In war, we have to kill our enemies. Thats the militarys job. To kill the enemy and you are stopping me from doing their job. These so-called civilians are all armed to the teeth. We are not barbarians. General. There are established rules of war. Bah. Rules. When did wars have rules? The elves dont even follow them. Mr. President. Make the right choice here. Let the military off this goddamn idiotic leash. Now get out of my office. You have been coming here every single fucking day. You have been a great advisor in the past but Im very close to removing you Quincy. A few miles away from the Orva Caelora Human Concentration Camp The grass billowed as 20 MV-22 Ospreys touched down onto the plains. Surrounding the landing area were M1A2 Abrams and HEMTT trucks. Cylindrical tanks full of aviation fuel were on the back of the HEMTTs. Soldiers rushed to connect the fuel hoses from the HEMTTs to the Ospreys. Once refueled, it was only a short journey from there to the Orva Caelora Human Concentration Camp. A few minutes later Orva Caelora Human Concentration Camp Damon shouted at the Magusians. Stay in your groups! We will be evacuating you soon. The sound of the MV-22 Ospreys got louder and louder. The first one soon appeared and landed in a clearing in the concentration camp. Get on in an orderly fashion! Please put all your baggage on the floor. Once you have sat down, please do not get up unless instructed to do so. As each Osprey filled up with Magusians, dust was kicked up by the rotors and they took off one by one. What was a bleak concentration camp had been completely transformed. In the past few days, the Rangers and the Green Berets had turned the concentration camp nearly into a FOB(Forward Operating Base). Well, the Army should be arriving soon. Guess we will be welcoming them. Less than an hour later I see two Bradleys! The recon force is here. The two Bradleys came to a stop and the commander at the lead Bradley popped out of his hatch. The commander grinned. Nice place you have here. Damon laughed. Welcome to our humble abode! Somewhere in the Elven Nation Stop. Elven military convoy over to the northeast. Multiple magitrucks followed by a single Guard tank raced down the paved road. The two Bradleys that pulled onto a grassy hilltop spied on them. Im calling in an airstrike. Lets tail them and see how it goes. The two Bradleys sped down the hill and through the grass. They kept the elven convoy that was on the road in sight but kept a distance. A few minutes later An F-15 flew over the elven convoy. The noise of the F-15 flying over was still reverberating when multiple large explosions wiped the convoy out. Blackened dirt and the mangled, charred metal wrecks were all that remained. Wooo, baby! An explosion occurred underneath the track of the lead Bradley. Aw fuck! Mine! The Bradley behind came to a stop. The commander of the lead Bradley opened his hatch and looked over the side. Tracks bust. 0810 Sun 46th, 196 AE ??? Most forces have been repositioned into the mountains. We have lost hundreds of vehicles and elves to American bombing attacks. We have also been receiving bombing runs on the mountains but I dont believe they have discovered our main base here yet. Tarron clasped his hands together. Gentleelves. We shall hold this position to the last elf. Anafalen raised his voice in opposition. My Leader, I dont think that''s advisable. The Americans are perfectly capable of wiping out our concentrated forces. In fact, I wont be surprised if their military has been made to destroy a concentration of units. It is more advisable if we spread out instead of staying here. That will make us a much harder target to kill. Tarron frowned and his eyes narrowed. Then who will keep an organized command of the units? How will we perform organized defenses and counterattacks? Uh we dont sir. The point is, we aim for our survival. Tarron spread his arm around. This mountain is the perfect terrain for defense and will be the staging area of our counteroffensive. Our main base is under hundreds of feet of solid stone, I dont believe the Americans have the capability of destroying that. Understood. The various department heads and the General Staff nodded in agreement. Tarron smiled, Dismissed. And also, Anafalen, I would like to see you in your office. A few minutes later Tarron sat down in Anfalens chair in his office. I told you before. You are getting on my nerves. My Leader, Im only giving sensible advice! I only need you to do as I say. Thats your job. You manage the Department of Intelligence. Thats all. Im also an advisor. I dont need time for advice. Everything is already in motion. Anfalen didnt respond for a few seconds before nodding. Yes, My Leader. Tarron exited the room. Anfalen sat down and a worried force grew on his face. His wife was also in the base with him but he had no heart to go see her. He had noticed that Tarron had changed ever since they abandoned the capital and it greatly concerned him. Tarron seemed to be angrier and was much less willing to listen to others. What should I do what should I do He whispered over and over again as his mind played out his options. 1046 May 16th, 2020 CE 0823 Sun 46th, 196 AE Port City of Filanneas M109A6 Howitzers were taken off of the cargo ship. Finns eyes followed the self-propelled howitzers. 1st Infantry Division Artillery. Blake looked over. Wheres the rest of the 1st Infantry? Probably on the way. Docked a few feet away from the cargo ship was a WW1-style transport ship. A tank rolled off of it. Blake whistled Wow. A fucking M4 Sherman. Finn nodded. The Magusians are here. How effective are they even gonna be? Probably just gonna be filler or something. Maybe garrisoning the towns? Do you think the brass will even trust them with that? Finn chuckled. I feel bad for them if they get sent to the frontline. M4 Shermans are quite easy to kill. MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida General Abrams Thompson, commander of the US New World Command, conversed with his staff. Other than retreating units and stragglers. The plains are mostly clear of enemy units. This is a good situation. Our units are starting to get stretched thin. The 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team from the 1st Infantry Division and the 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the 10th Mountain Division are arriving. The Magusians are also arriving and they will be under our guidance. Most of the elven forces have retreated to the mountains. We have lost sight of them but we are sure that there will be heavy fortifications on the mountains and that they are holed up there. Abrams nodded. Increase drone surveillance on that. Prepare for airstrikes on that region. Depending on how heavily they are fortified, we might need to get a MOAB out for this one. Port City of Jahlean, Elven Nation Elements of the 1st ABCT of the 1st Armored Division surrounded the port city. They kept their distance and had screening forces keeping an eye out. In his house, Lorsan felt panic coursing through his blood. He knew that all the articles that he had read about their recent glorious victories were most likely lies. He sat down eating with a gun leaning against his table. The humans had his city surrounded and there was no way out. Chapter 81 Part 1 – Bombardment RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the delay. I completely forgot to upload it yesterday. Also, the chapter is in parts cause of how busy I am currently. Had to write a lot of essays. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1110 May 16th, 2020 CE 0835 Sun 46th, 196 AE Outside the Port City of Jahlean, Elven Nation I guess we are sieging the city. It was quiet. There was no sound of artillery or bullets. Only the sound of idling engines and men chatting away. Well, the orders are just to stay outside of the city. Doesnt say anything about a siege. We could be waiting for reinforcements. It doesnt seem that the elves want to advance. They are just holing up in there. We might as well leave them there if they arent gonna attack us. Its gonna be a hassle if we dont do something about them since we will have to protect our logistics from possible attacks. Might as well as get rid of concentrated enemy units before they become a problem. Do we even know whats inside the city? Are there any elven soldiers? I havent seen one since we began this invasion. Well, intel has nothing. They are probably just a ragtag group of armed citizenry. Can we just start calling them terrorists? I dont see much of a difference at this point. They just seem to be Taliban with World War 2 weaponry and thoughts. Near Primopolis, Magus Imperium After stepping off the plane and onto the airfield, Renout felt a sense of relief since he was finally back in his home country. A tent had been set up nearby and Magusian soldiers directed him and the rest of the people who have been rescued to it. A few minutes in a line, Renout entered the tent. A Magusian officer looked up.Full name and the place you are from. Im Renout Hewet. Im from the village of Hallfeld. The Magusian officer looked back down onto his desk and started writing. That has been completely burnt to the ground. You could try to return to rebuild it but I cant see how much one man can do. Do you have any relatives or friends that are willing to house you? Renault hesitated. ...I have a question about that. The Magusian officer didnt look up. Yes? Im trying to find my parents and younger sister. They have been captured by the elves. Have they come through here? The officer opened a drawer in his desk and took out a book and opened it. We have a very short list of people who have been rescued. Can I have their names? Anna Hewet, Emelnie Hewet, and Arthurus Hewet. After flipping through the book, the officer shook his head. Sorry, they arent on the list. If you have nowhere to go, we are providing five days of free lodging at nearby hotels. Will all those who are rescued going to come through here? Im not sure about that. As of right now, yes. Alright. Thanks. Theres a tent to the right. They will send you to the hotel and give you some more help. Walking out, Renout saw a poster on the wall. On it was a soldier holding a rifle charging forward. Emblazoned on it below was Your Imperium Needs You! He thought about it. If he could go, he could try to save his parents and sister himself. He was scared to actually join. He had kept his head down when he was a slave to the elves and now he wants to go back there and fight them. He wondered if it was even reasonable since he had just gotten out of that hellhole. He was quite a lonely person and didnt make many friends because of his awkwardness. He also knew that the idea of going to save his family by himself was absurd. How long was it going to take to train him? Would his family have returned by the time he was sent to battle? Will he even be sent to the right area? The thoughts circled through his head. A few minutes after Renouts exit, Frery entered the tent. Full name and the place you are from? Im Frery Gauvain. Im an engineer at the Fowke Aviation Company. Im looking to return to the headquarters at Laufenberg. I meant the place that you live at. Not the place you work at. I live at Laufenberg. The officer looked up. How were you captured by the elves? I was on vacation. Well, nothing happened at Laufenberg. It was far away from the fighting. Then, I would like to go there. I need to have an urgent meeting with my boss. Okay. We will provide you with a train ticket to the city. 1235 May 20th, 2020 CE 0917 Sun 50th, 196 AE Washington D.C. The President looked at a satellite map of the Elven Nation. General Griffith briefed him on the current situation. Other than their major cities, everything on this side of the mountain range has been secured. The towns and villages have been much easier to deal with. We are laying siege to multiple cities. Mr. President, we will save more lives if we advance into the city instead of sieging it. Sieges will just leave to more suffering from both sides and the will of the elves are undeniably strong. They have already been there for 4 days. They may prefer starvation to surrender. The losses we will take from these battles will be too grave President Hayes pondered quietly for a bit. Alright, General, you have your wish. Im authorizing the use of artillery and airstrikes on any groups of identified armed elves in the city. Pass that down the chain. Port City of Jahlean A woman carried a basket of fruits that was gathered from her masters small front yard garden. Right next to her masters house, a group of armed elves stood behind a makeshift barricade. The elves decided to set up defenses street by street to make the fight as bloody as possible. One of the elves eyed her as she went back into the house. She hurried into the house. After setting down the fruit basket, she looked around to make sure no one was home and went to the room that had been provided to her. It was a small room and the only thing provided was a ragged mat to sleep on. We will be saved soon Emeline looked at her daughter, Anna, in the room. Anna slept quietly. She was gaunt and was likely still hungry. They had been through unspeakable things but the end seemed to be drawing near. From what she has seen and heard, the city had been surrounded. 2200 May 20th, 2020 CE 0200 Sun 51st, 196 AE Emeline awoke to a whistling noise. The ground shook as explosions occurred outside. Chapter 81 Part 2 – Bombardment RonTheBlackCat We will go back to normal next week Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 2130 May 20th, 2020 CE 0145 Sun 51st, 196 AE Outside the Port City of Jahlean Our drones have found barricades set up throughout the city with armed elves manning them. A few of them even have elven children there. Are they armed? We observed them holding what seems to be guns. If they are armed, they are a threat. The streets arent that wide so surrounding houses might be destroyed. We will have to take that chance then. Only target the barricades with armed elves or any area with a concentration of them Understood, sir. M109A7 Paladins of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment raised their guns and fired in unison. Their shells went for different targets across the city. 2246 May 20th, 2020 CE 0223 Sun 51st, 196 AE Kasnor Human Concentration Camp, Elven Nation A soldier talked to a war correspondent observing the evacuation. They walked past a parked Abrams and a few of the crew hanging around. We are currently evacuating these Magusian civilians. This is the biggest concentration camp we believe that the elves have. About 10,000 Magusian civilians were held here. How many were saved? Around 9,500. Luckily, the elves just started executing prisoners when we rolled up. We caught them off guard by advancing at night. Most of the elves ran. The ones we have captured seem to be have been confused at the ongoing situation. I heard that there are multiple other concentration camps. What happened to those? The operation to free the prisoners started six days ago when Special Forces and Army Rangers secured multiple small and medium-sized concentration camps. Why was this camp not prioritized? Being this large in size and so densely packed, sending in a small or medium force would have been unwise. The distance made any insertion via air impossible. We are literally next to the mountains that cut this entire country in half. This camp was a priority target though and ground troops got here as fast as possible. There should be a ton of elves crawling around in those mountains so we are getting these Magusian civilians out as fast as possible. Close by, an Osprey took off. Is it ok if I questioned a few of the Magusians? Feel free to do so but they speak Latin. I can translate for you to a degree. The soldier went around asking those who were still waiting for a helicopter. Many responded with stories of how they were starved, forced to work, and shot for not working fast enough or collapsing. The war correspondent took multiple pictures of the interior and exterior of multiple buildings. The execution sites were also captured on camera. A picture of an Ospreys full of Magusians was also taken and a few pictures of CH-53E Super Stallions and Ospreys lifting into the air. Port City of Jahlean Dont cry we will be fine Emeline tried to soothe Anna. Explosions after explosions occurred and the ground shook violently. A deafening explosion occurred and the wall caved in. Abrams and Bradleys entered the city. The barricade at the outskirts of the city had already been destroyed by shots from the Abrams. Issac followed his squad towards the city. Even with the artillery bombardments, the elves put up stiff resistance, and house-to-house fighting occurred. A few hours later Issac sat down on the street and leaned his head back. Jacob stood before him. We have secured half of the city. Only half? Sheesh. We have a much smaller force trying to take over a big city. Of course, we only secured half. Across the elven cities of the southern side of the mountains, similar fighting raged on. Nilfelon, Elven Nation A Sherman tank rolled down a street. Magusian infantry flanked it. Suddenly a rocket shot out and flew over the turret of the tank. Its .30 caliber machine guns opened up and the Magusian started shooting. 0301 May 21st, 2020 CE 0433 Sun 51st, 196 AE Galath Mountain Range, Elven Nation Gerald talked to Scott over the comms. Seems like they havent learned that their static defenses arent gonna do shit in the end. Hah. The Magusian food is doing more damage to us than they are. Gerald snickered. I hope Hayden will be alright. We told him not to eat it. A squadron of F-15Es dropped loads of bombs onto the Galath Mountain Range. Anti-aircraft fire sprayed into the sky but nothing was hit. They just made the targets much more obvious. ???, Elven Nation One of the generals reported to Tarron. My Leader, the defenses outside of the base have been devastated by air attacks. Its fine we still have our troops inside the mountains. They will be protected. Anfalen spoke up. My Leader, I still suggest we disperse our troops. We have been setting up defensive positions after defensive positions and none of them are working. The Americans have the capability to destroy any sort of organized defense we throw at them. Anfalen, when did you become a general? You are the Head of Intelligence. Not a person who makes military decisions. Isnt that right gentleelves? The general staff snickered and nodded. Anfalen sat down in the chair of his new home. It was more of an apartment than a normal house. They are all fucking yesmen An elf with short blond hair and ears that pointed a bit upwards looked out from the kitchen. Anfalen, it''s your first time home. You should think of something other than work. Well, we cant really call this home. Can we? I know. I know. But we have to make do. Anfalen laughed and continued on with his previous thought. When havent they been yesmen. Its just gotten worse. Saelihn, maybe I should do something. Anfalen. I know your work is important but dont stress yourself out too much. Tonight, we are having some Petren fish cooked with saltnut sauce. Anfalen stood up. Its a good thing this place has a large stock of food. I do prefer the fresh stuff though. Chapter 82 – Internal Affairs RonTheBlackCat OMG... i have so much stuff to do. XD It''s 2 am right now XD XD XD. I haven''t even finished drawing the new cover art yet (its coming out kinda ok). There are gonna be so many typos and mistakes in this one XD XD XD. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0955 May 23rd, 2020 CE Washington D.C. President Hayes read the report as the Cralson explained it to him. Most of the resistant towns and smaller cities have surrendered. From these recent battles, we have only suffered 47 casualties. The total so far for the entire war is only 263 casualties. Isnt that a bit grim compared to the figures from the Iraq War? Well compared to the Iraq War, we didnt face an army that was nearly 5 million strong and a fanatical populace. Casualties will still mount though as we start battling our way through their larger cities. Pentagon, United States of America General Griffith poured whiskey into his lowball glass. The ice inside plinked around. He looked outside the window of his office. I want those reports to be erased or changed. Understood? The President doesnt need to know about them. Its fine if one or two reports slip through. As long as the actual figures dont get to him. It will be fine. With this, I will get to keep my job. Heck, maybe I will even get recognized for what I did. And you will keep your job too. A man stood near the closed door. Im not too sure about this, General. Quincy took a sip out of his whiskey. Who do you think got you this job, Charles. I can get you fired from it with just a single phone call. Just follow this and you will keep your job. Charles swallowed and stayed where he was. Quincy gave a sigh and put his glass down on his desk. We have no obligation to protect people from other countries. In fact, fuck them. That shit of a President thinks its our duty to save foreigners who dont even give a damn about our country. Continuing the war in the Middle East and for what? To help rebuild countries? We should of just bombed them back to the stone age and left. I have seen good men die out there fighting for people who arent American. Quincys voice started to develop a tone of hatred. And in the end, the world still blames us. If they arent American, theres no need to help them. Our job. Our duty. Is to protect our fellow Americans. And only that. Well sadly, in our previous world we couldnt do that because of a stupid convention. Do you know how many of my buddies, my men died because of that? This world is a dream. No international community to watch us. No rules to follow. The foreigners are nothing more than idiots, animals, or barbarians. Think about it. A US-centric world with nobody to question what we do. We can destroy any foreign country that dares not listen to us. Hiding what we do from the domestic media isnt that hard in this world. And now that idiotic President is thinking about transparency and a rulebook to restrict us like the Geneva Convention. Maybe I should run for President. We will be so much better off. Charles felt a bit shocked by the Generals rant. But Quincy cut him off. I know you have been struggling recently. You have your wife and your kids. Once you finish this, maybe theres even something in line for you. Maybe a promotion of sorts. With a good raise in salary. And also isnt your daughter suffering from cancer? I can get her the best doctor there is. Paid by me. ...understood, General. Most of the civilian casualties are from elven executions. Our artillery and airstrikes have caused minimal civilian casualties. Ronell nodded at Quincys words. Maybe you were right, Quincy. Im not a military man. The current situation seems better than the past. Mr. President, war is not a clean thing. You have to take risks. Your idea to restrict our airstrikes and artillery strikes until the target was confirmed and the chance of collateral damage was completely gone made us lose many men. I sympathize with the fact that you want to help the innocent, but sometimes you just cant do that. 1030 May 23rd, 2020 CE 0815 Sun 23rd, 196 AE Galath Mountain Range A C-130 Hercules flew toward the mountain range. The navigator spoke on comms. This should be the biggest entrance to the cave and tunnel system that the elves have in the mountain. The back door of the C-130 opened and a MOAB slid out and dropped onto the side of the mountain. A small mushroom cloud rose into the sky. The open-air entrance to the base was very large so that it could allow magipanzers and aircraft to fit in. Usually, the front entrance would have a few elves milling around and a couple of aircraft being serviced. But because of the recent bombings, everything was moved further into the cave and closer to the part that was dug out. The elf engineers doing maintenance to the aircraft felt the ground rumble. They looked out of the cave just as they were thrown in a blast. The overpressure from the MOAB created shockwaves that reverberated into the cave and through the tunnels carved out by the elves. Because it was not reinforced, many parts of the cave collapsed. The initial blast killed those at the entrance and destroyed the vehicles stored there. Thousands of elves died from the shockwaves. Hundreds more were trapped in the mountain. The MOP, which was meant to destroy bunkers by going through the roofs and floors of a reinforced structure, was not suited for destroying a massive tunnel system that was carved into the side of a mountain. Ara looked up into the sky and saw a mass of white rising into the sky. She had seen a single plane that had four propellors drop a large bomb onto the mountain. When the bombings began, she was sheltered at a smaller cave system along with others so she was able to survive. ???, Elven Nation We have lost all communications with the soldiers in the mountains main base. We have received reports from nearby soldiers that a large explosion occurred. It is highly possible that the main base has been wiped out. In the hallway, loud yelling came from Tarrons room. It went on for a few minutes before stopping and an eerie silence fell. Anfalen rushed into the room. Saehalin. We need to leave. We arent safe here. Saehalin looked bewildered. Where are we going? Whats happening? You know where my parents live right? Their village? Go there. I already have a driver arranged to do that. Pack. They walked out of the enormous base. Two cars were waiting outside. Saehalin stopped. Anfalen why are there two cars? Anfalen sighed. Im not going with you. Why? Im going to find a way to stop this madness. Anfalen stopped her from saying more. I will be fine. Anfalen nodded at the elf standing next to the drivers door of the first car. Vesstan, you are one of my most trusted officers and our close friend. Keep her safe. Vesstan gave a small smile. Will do, sir. Come on Sae. Saehalin hesitated. Vess but Anfalen urged her. Leave! Go! I will return to your side as soon as possible. If the Americans come to your village, do not resist. Anfalen watched as Saehalin got into the car. He had thought long and hard about this. Killing Tarron would accomplish nothing. Someone else would take over and the entire mess would continue. If he tried to take over, he will just be killed for treason. He needed another way and he now was taking a gamble. It was the most reasonable out of the three he had thought of. He hoped Saehalin will be safe. Tarron was handicapped at this point. He neither has the time nor the resources to waste to try to kill his parents or his wife. Anfalen turned towards his second in command, Athtar Uladan. Lets go. Tarron gave out orders in the General Staff room. Order all units to withdraw from the mountains. Disperse into the forest. Wheres Anfalen? Get Anfalen. I need to talk to him. Tarron brows creased. He loathed to admit it but Anfalen was right. A few minutes later A soldier saluted him. Hail Venharice! We were unable to find him and his wife was not at the living quarters. Ok, then search around the compound. A few hours later It was clear that Anfalen was gone. Two cars had disappeared from the vehicle storage and Tarron along with his wife and two Intelligence officers were gone. After hearing this in his office, Tarron gritted his teeth before shouting and slamming his fist onto his desk. Anfalen! Anfalen! Anfalen! On the road to the Galath Mountains Athtar, in the driver seat, spoke up to Anfalen who was beside him. I see things coming down the mountain. Seem to be our soldiers. Find a different route. We need to get to the other side of the mountain without being caught. You know, Anfalen this entire thing feels like a stupid idea. Well, its only one I can think of at this point. Chapter 83 – Dying Down? RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the one-week delay! College is hard... well duh it''s college what did I expect? XD. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0044 May 24th, 2020 CE 0322 Sun 24th, 196 AE Miles from the Galath Mountain Range, Elven Nation Surrounded by trees, Ara sat down on a flat rock while rubbing her forehead. Beside her was her Knight tank. She was glad that she had filled it up during their stay in the mountains. A few beleaguered elven soldiers milled around. Among them, one soldier came up to her and saluted. She didnt know his unit nor his name but he had patches that indicated that he was a Lieutenant. He was most likely the highest rank soldier here other than her. Major General, quite a few of our elves are missing. We have witnesses that say they have deserted. Ok. The Lieutenant looked at Ara curiously. Shouldnt we give out orders to shoot anyone who deserts and to find those who deserted? We dont have time to care about deserters and we arent going to shoot them. I dont even know which units these men are all from. I know which unit they are from. I gathered them. Major General, it is your duty to command us. Ara sighed. The deserters are just following orders. The Lieutenant blinked. Um, Major General, I dont think the orders were to give up. They are dispersing. The orders were to disperse. Thats what they are doing. Im not even their actual commanding officer. They just joined up with us when we fled the mountains. In fact, some of these deserters could be trying to find their own units or their commanding officers. Ara sighed again after he left. She really wished that she could also desert. Ugh, this is a mess. A few minutes later We are running low on food and we have nowhere to be resupplied. Ara shook her head. High Command is giving no help to us. Every time I ask for supplies and such, they only told me to follow the order to disperse. Seems like we will have to fend for ourselves. The Lieutenant nodded. Major General, should we take a position in one of the nearby towns? They have food and probably fuel. ... thats actually not a bad idea. The Americans havent gotten to this side of the mountains yet. Ara stood up. Elves! Move out, we are getting resupplied. 0120 May 24th, 2020 CE MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida General Thompson looked over the sit-rep. Huh they abandoned the mountains. Thats incredibly stupid of them but incredibly lucky for us. One of his staff nodded. I guess they got scared of the MOAB we dropped on them. Well, we only have 14 more of them so thank god for that. It would be a repeat of Iwo Jima if they continued staying in those mountains. 0133 May 24th, 2020 CE 0346 Sun 24th, 196 AE Somewhere in the Elven Nation Under the blazing sun, a platoon of M1A2 Abrams sat in the middle of the plains. Captain Rose sat on the commanders hatch of his Abrams and studied the wide-open plains. A voice came over the comms. <<>> On the road, a group of Humvees passed them. The soldiers on the Humvees were laughing. One of the tankers who was sitting beside his Abrams gave them a middle finger and shouted Oh, fuck you! Skies over Elven Territory Leaflets spewed out of an F-15E that was cruising over the skies of the Elven Nation All cities west of your mountain range have fallen! Those that have surrendered are being treated humanely. We mean no harm to the elves of the Elven Nation. We only seek those responsible for initiating this war. On the back of the leaflet was a map of the Elven Nation. One side of the Elven Nation was colored blue and had the American and Magusian flag on it. On the other side was colored gray with the Elven flag on it. Multiple blue arrows pointed towards the gray area. Outskirts of Faluna, Elven Nation The sound of M777A2s firing rumbled across the plains. The firing had been going on for a few days, starting every time a target was marked. US troops have also advanced slowly into the city. Ovagroth, Elven Nation Finn walked down the street. There were a few bodies lying on the street. Fucking hell. These elves did a number on these Magusians. A burnt-out Sherman sat right in the middle. A few miles away, an Magusian officer greeted the commander of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines. The elves have been stubbornly defending this city. Our Shermans have helped make some progress but we have been stopped by their anti-tank weaponry. If Im hearing it correctly, the current situation is a stalemate then. Near the Galath Mountain Ranges, Elven Nation A few US soldiers, from the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division, stood around relaxingly at a checkpoint. A car appeared from the horizon. One of the soldiers noticed it and his eyes widened in disbelief. <<>> What the hell. Why the hell is there a car here? Get into positions! The soldiers raised their M4s towards the car. The car soon came to a halt and two elves stepped out with their hands up. <<>> 10 minutes later Washington D.C. The phone next to Ronells bed started to ring. Ugh what time is it? Ronell picked up the phone. <<>> A few miles from the Galath Mountain Range An American soldier stood by the entrance and kept an eye on Anfalen as he sat down. Im Anfalen Inaneiros. Head I guess now former Head of the Elven Intelligence Agency. A soldier sitting on the opposite side of the table greeted him. Nice to meet you, Mr. Inaneiros. Im Colonel Brian Trujillo, commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division of the United States Army. I will be acting as a temporary representative of the government of the United States. Although we are unable to confirm your identity, we are interested in what you want to say. Do understand that the soldier by the door is there as a precaution. I know that you Americans have capabilities beyond my wildest dreams. My agency has gathered a lot about your country. From your planes that are faster than the speed of sound, your helicopters, and your weapons that can attack out of sight. You also come from another world dont you? Brian smiled. Well, you do seem to know more than the average elven soldier. Go ahead. You know who our Leader is correct? I presume you are talking about Tarron Venharice. Anfalen nodded. I am.. was a very close aide to him. In recent times, he has become more and more delusional. He started threatening me whenever I gave suggestions. I couldnt take it anymore. I knew that we werent going to win and Tarron will be forsaking the entire elven race if he continued. And how does this lead to you defecting to us? I believe that there are elves just like me, tired of the war and tired of this fanaticism. There are elves like you. Especially, from your countrys rural areas. But how do you expect to drum up support? I dont suspect that you are well known. Are you? Im not, but I know I will have support. Like you said, in the rural areas, elves are less supportive of Tarron. Its because our propaganda has targeted the urban elves more than the rural ones. Now, elves in places that you have occupied are more willing to show their distaste for the current Elven government. They wont be in hiding anymore. Im hoping to gather elves like these to form a new Elven government. It is better than you humans taking over. Not many elves will accept that. I wont be surprised if a resistance movement forms because of that. Brian set his eyes on Anfalen. But what if the elves see you as a puppet government? Well they wont because only elves are in the government. If humans were in the government, then the elves will see it as a puppet government. Having an elf-only government doesnt guarantee that a resistance movement doesnt form against you. Anfalen grew quiet. Um.... Brian chuckled. I may have questioned you too much there. Well, the end decision isnt up to me. We will let you meet an actual diplomat soon to sort this out. Brian paused. Here is a serious question. Do you know where your Leader currently is? ... I know Tarrons hideout. I will be willing to give you this information if your government agrees to what Im proposing. 082, May 24th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. President Hayes swept his eyes across the members of the committee.The issue with the underwater sea monsters is becoming quite a nuisance. Secretary of Homeland Security Lenny Clark, started speaking. We have had a recent uptick in ships being mysteriously sunk with holes on the bottom. The Coast Guard is currently investigating but hasnt come up with much. However, a team of scientists we have gathered has come up with some information. Dr. Levi Munoz is here to talk about what his team has learned so far. Levi stood. Ahem. Mr. President. We believe that it is a creature. Most likely native to only this part of the world. Just like how the phoenixes were. However, they are fewer in numbers and should not be able to cause much damage. As long as we avoid the areas where it is mostly found, we can minimize the damage. My team has been creating a map to show where they are commonly found. Heres a map of the result. Lenny nodded. We will need to find a way to track them and then find a way to exterminate them. The Coast Guard is cooperating with the Navy in order to use their MH-60Rs to try to detect the sea monsters. We are not sure about the environmental impact of exterminating such creatures. We should tread carefully. Apology about Chapter 84 So I have read some of the recent comments and I would like to apologize about Chapter 84. I was in no way trying to make Muslims look evil. The "Allah" that showed up was a fake (The form of the man who called himself Allah slowly dissipated. Where he once stood, Oldadir appeared. Ha! That was easy. Got a bit nervous there but that went well. Im the greatest actor in this plane!). I understand that you may still be upset that I have decided to use Osama bin Laden. I thought he was an interesting figure to add in order to make the elves improve as an enemy and as sort of a plot twist. I only realized now that this was a dumb decision. I''m very sorry for my Muslim readers. I was being stupid and did not think about the consequences. I will remake Chapter 84 and release it again tomorrow. I hope that you will forgive me for my mistake. Chapter 84 – Those Above RonTheBlackCat Sorry about not posting for so long. A day after I released my apology, my computer died. It literally just went blank and stopped working. It''s currently still being repaired so I''m doing this on my phone rn. So, format might be weird. Also, I''m unable to format the words to be colored. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 P.s. I read you guyss comments on the apology. Please do not be upset with your fellow readers for what happened to the original Chapter 84. DStoDS, it wasnt your fault. I had very negative feedback from my readers on RoyalRoad. That was why I the original Chapter 84 removed. 0930 May 24th, 2020 CE 0745 Sun 24th, 196 AE Galath Mountain Range Jacob sat on a rock that was beside the cave. Not an elf in sight. He took a sip out of his canteen. Issac looked into the cave. The caves might have some. Pretty sure they have been cleared out. We will be over this mountain in no time. Would be nice if the elves gave up. The way they are fighting? Jacob shook his head. No chance. Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, United States A sensor operator looked closely at his screen. We have a single large heavy tank on the road. The mission coordinator looked over his shoulder. Woah. Thats a big one. Permissions to fire? Granted. Skies above Elven territory A MQ-9 Reaper cruised over a long road that led to the mountain. A Hellfire missile shot out and a large explosion rocked the road. ???, Elven Nation My Leader! The Titan magipanzer had just been found destroyed. A loud, angry yell came from Tarrons office followed by the noise of shooting. Tarron came out of the office. My Leader, what The guard stopped as he saw that Tarron was holding a pistol and was fuming. Drag him out! Im going to my quarters. Dont disturb me for the next few hours. Tarron waved his pistol at his aid behind him. The aid laid slumped by a wall that was covered in blood. Tarron started muttering under his breath and walked away. ??? Inera watched a screen when she heard an angry yell resound. Elder Sister! Sister! What is the meaning of this!? What is it, Odaldir? A red faced young-looking man, Odaldir appeared in front of Inera holding a screen. This!? The night skyline of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge was seen from the ocean on the screen. Inera gave a glance. Oh, that? You told me that I could summon anything I wanted to help me in your challenge. When I said summon anything I thought you would do something like a hero that uncle did for his world. Not whatever this is?! Odaldir. I dont understand why you have to be this cruel. Cant you retract this challenge? The redness of Odaldirs face started to fade. A smirk grew on his face. What? Its fun. I killed everything in mines so it got boring. Ha. Whatever, from the looks of it, you didnt summon anything special if you are still worried. I hope you watch as I destroy everything you loved. Bye. Odaldirs smirk widened and his eyes held a tint of wildness as he disappeared. Inera sighed and shook her head. How did he share the same parents as me? He just had one of those mood swings again. I really wish mother and father will be back soon. One thousand years ago Odaldir watched from a floating screen as a human wearing chain-link armor ran from a group of huge, grey dog-like monsters. He laughed as tears flowed down the humans face. It wasnt long before the monsters caught up and tore the human apart. When Odaldir giggling stopped, he took a deep breath. And that should be the last one. Hm thats surprising being base creatures, they survived the longest. He looked around his world. Many types of jet-black and red creatures were everywhere. The land was a tan color devoid of vegetation. Ruins of civilization could be seen everywhere. Hmmm it kinda feels boring now. Theres nothing to kill anywhere. 500 years ago Inera happily watched as a group of humans built a home brick by brick. Their architecture has gotten really good. Because of how little interaction the gods and goddesses have with each other, they are prone to talking to themselves. Oldadir popped up. Elder sis! Inera didnt like at her younger brother. What is it, Oldadir? Im bored. Dont you have a world to manage? Oh, I killed everything on it. Inera swished her head towards Oldadir You WHAT!? Oldadir smiled. What? Mom and Dad have only been gone on vacation for five thousand years and you already killed everything in your world?! Yeah. I got bored and made some demons hey sis, is that your world? Yes what about it? Can I join? No Oldadir pouted. Awwww come on. Then how about I challenge you? My world is perfectly fine. I dont want a challenge. Oldadir giggled. It will be fun! I will get to kill everything on your world. Oldadir mom and dad will be really angry once they They are gonna be gone for another five thousand years. I give you 500 years before my demons invade your world. Also you are allowed to summon anything to help your world. Ineras eyes widened. Only 500 years? Bye! can I even develop my world enough should I summon something? Inera hesitated. Summoning something that didnt come from her world could drastically change it. Sometimes, the result would be terrible. 1040 May 24th, 2020 CE 0820 Sun 24th, 196 AE Malean, Elven Nation After having most of the elves that were with her stay at the outskirts of the town, Ara and a few other elves walked into the townsquare. On her way there, the town was eerily quiet. She stopped and took in the scene in front of her. Standing besides her, the Lieutenant turned his head to look at her. Major General, seems like we have units that got here before us. Two elves in officer uniforms were in the townsquare arguing. These are our supplies! No! Ours! Elven soldiers were scattered around. A few scared townselves stood by and watched. Ara and the Lieutenant approached them.Whats happening here? Both elves turned towards Ara and said the same thing.Who are you? Major General Ara Belra of the 11th Blitzpanzer Division. Beside me is Lieutenant Ehlark Valzana of the 10th Infantry Division. Who are you two? Captain Jandar Miraric of the 5th Tracked Infantry Division. Major Ruvaen Jostina of the 33rd Infantry Division. Ruvaen stared at Ara. Look here, we got here first so these supplies belong to us. Jandar chuckled. Well, tell that to my magitrack! A magitrack rolled into the townsquare. A soldier manned the machine gun on it. Ara looked at Ehlark and whispered into his ear. Lieutenant. Get it over here. Are you sure Major General? We cant use Ara cut him off. Yes. Im sure. Im I guess Im currently your commanding officer. I will take full responsibility for anything that happens. After Ehlark nodded and left, Ara shook her head. Sheesh, he follows the rules too much. She turned back to the standoff. We will shoot! You wont dare! Ara shouted. Stop! Stop! Stop! Jandar and Ruvaen looked at her and said the same thing again. What?! Look we are all soldiers of the Elven Nation here. We are part of the same army. Cant we share the supplies? Maybe we can even travel together as a single unit. Ruvaen stared at her. Between the three of us? Together? Jandar shook his head. I have a couple hundred elves of my unit with me. They are my unit and my unit only. We need those supplies! No, my unit need them. Ara coughed. I outrank bo She got cut off by Jandar. Look here missy, tell your rank to my magitrack. These supplies are mine. A vein popped on her forehead. Oh so you gentleelves want to have a who has the biggest dick contest? A rumbling noise came from behind her. Well then, tell that to my Knight." A Knight came from behind her and stopped in the townsquare. It turned its turret towards the magitrack. Ara took a deep breath. Ok now. We will be sharing these supplies based on how many elves we have and what we need. Understood, gentleelves? Ruvaen and Jandar stared at each other and then looked back at Ara and then looked at the Knight. ...ok. ...I guess. 15 minutes later Ara, Jandar, and Ruvaen were sitting in someones house conversing. Ara looked at Jandar. Ok so since you have magitracks and I have magipanzers, we will be splitting the fuel. Im taking 60 percent. You are taking 40 percent. Jandar immediately protested. Hey! Thats not fair! My Knight needs more fuel than your magitrack. Im already being lenient here. Jandar looked away. ... alright Ok and that should cover almost everything. I hope you two have a good day. Elven Underground Command Complex, Elven Nation Tarron, with a frown on his face, approached his aides. The aides, who have been busy with compiling reports and various other tasks, all stopped and nervously stared at Tarron. Tarron looked around. We are leaving. If he really betrayed us, I wont be surprised if he tells the humans where we are located. Spread the word. Take as much supplies as you can. 40 minutes later Outside the complex, Colonel General Vuduin Roqe looked at Tarron. My Leader, we have nearly completed evacuations. Where will we go from here? Tarron smiled. Where our ancestors have called their home. Chapter 85 – Warlord, Opposition, and Resistance RonTheBlackCat Lol. At this point, I''m thinking about renaming this book to "America Curbstomps Another World." I''m probably gonna hold off on that until I release the improved/better version (which will keep the name "America In Another World.") Also, sorry for the late release. It''s 3 am in the morning haha... Also, I got a loaner laptop from HP since their repair is gonna literally take one to two months since the motherboard on my computer broke. Yay... i guess? Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0310 May 26th, 2020 CE 0435 Sun 26th, 196 AE Ovagroth, Elven Nation Although it has been reduced for the past few days, the tension between the surviving elves in the city and the human soldiers still ran high. Finn yawned as he stood on the busy street watching the elves walk by. Beside him, Blake and Curtis were laughing about some joke. Finn was glad to see Curtis doing fine. Finn started to yawn again but stopped as he heard gunshots. Shit. The crowd of elven civilians started screaming and running. <<>> Finn, Curtis, and Blake ran towards the noise. The gunshots died down just as they arrived on scene. A clearly dead elf laid on the ground a yard or so away from US soldiers. Hes down! Blake looked around. Fuck. What was that? Anybody injured? A US soldier laid on the ground. A medic was working on him. The downed soldier coughed. Shit. Im fine. Just a bit shook up. The medic patted the soldiers back.It didnt even get through your vest. Just throwing stones at us with magic. He bent down and picked up one of the projectiles. It was just a small stone. Thank god most of these civvies have weak magic. That water guy last week was nasty. Finn walked towards the group of soldiers. Heard he injured two guys. He was a soldier that we didnt net when we swept through the area. Blake shook his head. I really cant be comfortable with the fact that all these elves have weapons on them. Curts nodded. At least most of the elven civilians here are peaceful. Blake chuckled.Well, we kinda killed and imprisoned almost all of the non-peaceful ones. A few miles from the Galath Mountain Range Colonel Brian Trujillo led Anfalen out to the field that had a Blackhawk waiting. Anfalen looked cruiously at it. So these are helicopters. You know about helicopters? The Advancement Department was working on producing helicopters. They havent made it yet though. Well, this is a Blackhawk. A transport helicopter. Probably the safest way of transport here. We will be sending you to the Port City of Filanneas. Our diplomat will meet you there. 0623 May 26th, 2020 CE 0611 Sun 26th, 196 AE Port City of Filanneas Daniel felt a bit tired. He was a US diplomat in the Magusian Imperium that was just given a bunch of information and rushed here. He entered the room. An elf was standing next to a seat. They shook hands. Nice to meet you. Im Diplomat Daniel Foley. Anfalen Inaneiros. Former Head of the Elven Intelligence Department. Take a seat. I have been temporarily assigned by my government to meet with you. Of course, I hope you understand that we are not here for compromise. The current elven government must be completely dissolved and remade. Tarron Venharice will either be killed or if he survives, be tried for crimes against humanity. That is perfectly alright with me. As long as we remain a free race. We will not accept being ruled by humans. We are not here to conquer you. We will leave once a stable democratic elven government. I will help. Well, my government would like a lot of information from you A few minutes later Daniel walked beside Anafalen. It is highly likely that you would be a target of assassination. I wont be surprised if they electrocute you or something. Electrocute? We dont have electricity magic. Well, that explains why I havent heard anything about our soldiers getting struck by lightning magic or something. Does your countrys intelligence not know this? Lightning magic doesnt exist. There are four main types of mana. Air, water, fire, and earth. Im able to manipulate air mana quite well. Its not good at attacking but very good at defending against regular magic attacks. Well, we will still have guards with you. 0839 May 26th, 2020 CE 0719 Sun 26th, 196 AE Skies over the Elven Nation A B-2 bomber cut through the sky. Its black paint glinted in the sunlight. The bay doors slowly opened up and a MOP dropped. A few seconds later, a massive blast went off on the ground. An RQ-170 stealth drone circled around in the sky. Ronell watched the live footage from the situation room. Cralson nodded. That should be a good effect on target if the bunker is really there. The entrance is where he said it will be. Hopefully, we killed that Tarron bastard. Einora, Elven Nation An elf, holding a submachine gun, shouted. They have a Knight with them! Get the PAM! Another elf ran up and aimed a PAM at the Knight. The magirocket flew over the turret of the Knight. The Knights turret turned towards the elf. Oh n Elves started throwing down their weapons and raising their hands towards the tank. We surrender! Dont shoot! A tied up elf looked You are nothing more than traitors to the Leader! Oh, Wirenth. I doubt our Leader is even alive anymore. Even if he was, he has abandoned us and proven himself incompetent. We may be traitors to the Leader but we aren''t traitors to our country. Im proclaiming myself as the ruler of this town and the surrounding area. My reinforcements will come. Nasir you will regret your betrayal! Ha! Reinforcements? What reinforcements? A chain of command doesnt exist anymore. Its everyone for themselves. For the past few days, I tried to recieve orders and tried to request for supplies. But we were ignored. My elves were forced to scavenge just to survive. Look, I give you this chance to live. Most of your elves have agreed to serve me. How about you? If you swear your oath to me, we can create an empire. Never! Nasir nodded to the two elves flanking Wirenth. Well, if thats your decision. Take him away and deal with him. 50 miles from the Elven Underground Command Complex A platoon of elves held up their rifles at the sight of two elves appraoching them. Halt! Identify yourselves? We are forward elements of the Leader Security Company. The Leader would like to meet with the current commander of your force. Which unit are you? We are the 11th Tracked Infantry Regiment 10 minutes later Colonel Goras Balhorn saluted. My Leader! Tarron nodded. Colonel Balhorn. Your orders, sir? We will be conducting a retreat to the Forest of Origin. I would like to give a short speech to your elves. Of course, sir! Tarron stood in front of a thousand or so elves of the 11th Tracked Infantry. ...we will be fighting a war for the survival of all elves! These humans may have demons supporting them but do not fear, we are the mightest species on this planet. Through our righteousness and our will, we shall destroy these pests that infest this planet. We will make them run from our homes. We shall cleanse this world of them. We shall return to our ancestral land and show these humans that we are not defeated! Tarron conversed with his general staff. Before destroying the large communication equipment, we sent out a message telling all units to regroup at the Forest of Origin. Im not sure how many units were able to receive it though. Tarron nodded. As long as we have a division of elves, we can still fight. Port City of Filanneas Anfalen stood in front of a crowd of elves. My fellow elves, I have made a deal with these humans. I understand why you want to call me a traitor but Im an ally of all elves. What I seek for is the survival and freedom of the elven species! There were murmurs among the elves. Look at where we are now. We have no control of our country and humans are everywhere. I dream of a future where we will have control over our own country and these humans will be gone. Of course, you can continue fighting but Im afraid we wont win. The humans have already taken the mountains. Our military is in disarray. And our leaders have fled. Two F-15s make sonic booms overhead. Like you, I have no intention of living under humans. The humans have offered me the fact that they dont want to control us either since they know we will resist every second of it. As long as we dont attack the humans, they will leave us alone. In a forest, Elven Nation Ara watched as her tank crew refueled the Knight. The crew popped open the doors on the back of the Knight. They removed the two massive magibatteries that were attached. A long tube, the Mana Suction Connector, connected the large magibatteries with multiple smaller ones which was the fuel they got from the town. After checking that the connector was linked in the right direction, they turned the valve. Mana flowed from the smaller magibattery to the bigger ones. Ara wondered how much of the magibatteries was left. Cities were the major producers of magibatteries. The density of cities, in the millions, allowed magibatteries to be easily fueled. With most cities bombed by the Americans, she doubted there would be enough. The Knights consumption of mana was ridiculously high. To travel a few hundred miles, it required mana that was capable of powering a town for multiple days. If she had her men continuously refill the smaller magibatteries, she doubted it would be enough. At this point, she regretted not pushing the idea to join forces. 1023 May 26th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. Ronnell sat back and listened to Cralson. We will be launching an assault on the Elven capital city within 35 hours. The Air Force and artillery have pounded it for the last 10 days. According to General Thompson, resistance will still be heavy. We are expecting something like the Battle of Berlin. 39 hours later Afvalin, Elven Nation Johns Abrams lurched to a stop. Fire! The Stallion exploded as an Abrams shell went right through it. The Abrams machine guns opened up on the elven infantry defending the street. The ground started shaking. Woah! What the fuck? Chapter 86 – The Elves Fight On RonTheBlackCat Sorry about not updating for almost 20 days! I had been suffering from a bacterial infection for two weeks (It started on November 11th and I got better on November 24th). At first I thought it was a cold since I had a cough and runny nose but then a week passed and I got worse. My doctor told me it was some sort of bacterial infection and gave me medicine for it so I''m fine now. That two weeks was just suffering. :< Also, I''m 19 now! YAY. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read a chapter ahead -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1444 May 27th, 2020 CE 1022 Sun 27th, 196 AE Afvalin, Elven Nation From far away, the explosions and orange glows could be heard and seen in the night skies of Afvalin. The fire control officer looked at the black and white video feed. We got an Elven armored column down there. Goddamn, how well did they hide their armor. Seems like they crashed them into houses so they could be hidden. Well not like that matters much now. The 105 mm on AC-130 circling the city opened up on the four Elven Knights below. We have what seems to be a company of elven infantry coming down that street. The 30 mm autocannon made bright white dots on the screen of the thermal camera as rounds hit the elves below. The battle had been going on for a day and the elves were fighting tooth and nail for their capital city. 0123 May 28th, 2020 CE 0341 Sun 28th, 196 AE The shooting stopped as the ground shook violently. Bricks fell off of some of the three story buildings. Jacob ducked and yelled at his squad. Get back into the Bradleys! The buildings are coming down! Issac piled into the Bradley along with his squad. Why the fuck is there an earthquake? Whats the chances of that? The Bradley shook violently. A metallic pang rang out as something hit the Bradley from the outside. Captain John Rose felt his entire body shake as the ground shook violently. <<>> Another voice came on the radio. <<>> As the shaking stopped, some water started flowing down the street. Johns tank started moving back. Even with the rising water, elves were shooting again. Theres a tank to our left! The driver of the Bradley yelled back at Jacob. The water is getting too high. We have to abandon the Bradley or we will be swept away Everyone get out! They have been trying to navigate the city in order to get out but werent fast enough. Elves had also tried to stop the Bradley but were quickly dealt with by its 25mm chain gun. Fuck! We need to get on a building. Go! Issac waded his way through the gushing water and followed his squad. Entering the house, there was already a few feet of water on the ground. They rushed up the deserted building. Jacob, Issac, and the rest of the squad got onto the roof of the house through a window. The water was filling the street and rising. Their Bradley started floating away. A wave then engulfed it and turned it sideways Jacob shook his head. Fucking hell. The elves must be up to some shit with their magic. Issac looked over the roof and at the ground. Um, the water is still rising we may need to find higher ground. The building beside us is a story or two higher. We should swim across when the water gets high enough. Issac shook his head. The water is too violent and there are random waves, we cant swim across Jacob nodded. Im gonna try to get an evac for us. <<>> Issac couldnt hear what was being said on the other side of the radio but Jacob shouted. <<>> 10 minutes later In the distance, a black helicopter got closer and closer. Issac shouted. Our ride is here! Jacob looked at the edges of the roof. Jesus christ! Get in the helicopter! GO! GO! GO! The water was splashing onto the sides of the roof of the building. The men piled into the Blackhawk. As the water started flowing onto the roof, the Blackhawks wheels started lifting off the ground. The Blackhawks rotors made waves onto the water. Suddenly, a wave of water started coming for them. Theres a fucking wave incoming! Come on! Get us off the ground! The wave barely missed them as the Blackhawk gained altitude. Afvalin, Elven Nation The capital city of the elves was once in a valley that had a river run through it. Now, it was just a massive lake. Debris floated around in the water and the structures that hadnt been swept away stuck out of the water. It was as if a hurricane just swept through. A few Blackhawks and Chinooks flew over the flooded city. An F-15 flew by. In one of the Blackhawks, Issac looked out. They fucking sacrificed an entire city, their capital, just to kill a few of us. Jacob took in the view. Probably for their sense of pride or something. The elves mentality doesnt differ that much from a humans. I guess. If we cant have it, you cant have it either. 0444 May 28th, 2020 CE 0522 Sun 28th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. Ronell looked very stern. How many men did we lose? Cralson looked grim. A couple hundred were drowned. We lost five Abrams, two Bradley, and a couple of other vehicles. This was completely out of our expectations. Fucking magic bullshit. We have to look out for things like these in the future. I would like all units to stay about a mile away from rivers. We could ask the elven official that surrendered to us. He may know something. Port City of Filanneas Anfalen shook his head. I did not know that Tarron had any plans to submerge the capital city. Daniel nodded. Can your entire country be submerged again? We arent capable of submerging this country as of right now. We were able to submerge our country and keep it submerged because of the last Great Magus. We surfaced our continent right when he died. The current Great Magus doesnt have the power to submerge us or keep us submerged. The Great Magus with that amount of ability comes about once every few thousand years. Good to hear that we only have to deal with one of these bastards. Well, if the capital is gone, then the current Great Magus might be dead. With great amounts of mana, comes great physical weakness. So much mana in one elf is not good for their health. I dont believe that the current Great Magus could have moved out of there. I remember the successor of the current Great Magus wasnt that powerful. We were still trying to find a suitable replacement for him. Washington D.C. Ronell was delighted to hear that the chances of another flooding incident happening wasnt likely. However, the stay away from rivers command was still in effect just in case. The President sat in the Situation Room for a briefing by General Thompson. We are seeing a general breakdown of order among their units. We have some units seemingly retreating in a similar southern direction. However we have many units that are holding their ground yet not covering anybodys retreat. There are some units moving in a completely unreasonable direction. According to military intelligence, it is highly likely that Tarron Venharice is dead. Forest of Origin, Elven Nation Colonel General Vuduin Roqen took in the forest. I have never actually visited this place before. Tarron looked around. Our ancestors ruled these forests during the days when we used bows and arrows. Well, not much is left of that time. The forest reclaimed it all when we ventured outwards. A few minutes later Heres my plan. We will begin building a base in this forest. Multiple small spread out camps. Each with an independent yet still unified command. The Americans can easily destroy concentrated formations of us and find ways to tear apart our chain of command. This forest is perfect for ambushes. Their armor cant enter the forest. Tarron nodded to Vuduins words. What will we do about our armor? We cant just abandon them outside the forest. Our armor has proven quite ineffective against theirs. At this point, they are just metal coffins. The Titan was killed without even putting up a fight. At most, we bring our Stallions. The Knights have some use. We can entrench them and make them into bunkers. We can even hide the few Fortresses we have until the day we use them again. May 29th Sun 29th Galath Mountain Range With Elven forces in disarray, US and Magusian forces easily crossed over the mountains. The scattered elven units that tried to hold their ground were easily pushed aside. Chapter 87 – Crumbling Power RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the late release. It''s nearing the end of the semester for me which means I have final projects and final exams. Obligations... *massive sigh*. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 2 chapters ahead for $2 -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0246 May 29th, 2020 CE 0423 Sun 29th, 196 AE On the other side of the Galath Mountain Range Frontline Nicks Abrams came to a halt. We have elven soldiers right in front of us. Fire! The shell exploded on the ten or so elves on the hill. Some elves panickedly stood up with their weapons while others were frozen in shock. Suddenly they started shouting. We surrender! We surrender! Droves of elves put their hands up and laid down their weapons. Nicks Abrams along with the rest of the platoon drove close to the surrendering elves and stopped. Connolly smiled Huh nice. Either their fighting spirit is gone or these are just a bunch of untrained conscripts. Nick stared at them through the slit of the commanders hatch. Well, look at them. Some of them seem to be starving. I guess their logistics fell apart. Infantry started arriving to secure the surrendering elves. 10 minutes later An elf ran into a run-down building. There were many elves in the building but the messenger ran directly to one. Commander! Human forces are here! Our forward observers have been defeated! The elf stood up. Our Leader may have run away in fear of these measly humans but we will face them! Elves! Into positions! They will not take our city! Wooo! Our new Leader! A shout came from outside. Human aircraft! Get into cover! Explosions rumbled the ground. The elves dived for the ground and took cover under desks. A few minutes later Another messenger came in through the door. Commander. Our forces are surrendering! Human tanks are here. Shooting and explosions could be heard outside. We are retreating! Get to the car! Somewhere in Elven-held territory, Elven Nation Sitting on the back of the turret of the moving Knight, Ehlark scanned the sky. His head swished back and forth. There arent that many human aircraft overhead anymore. Ara, who was sitting in the opened commanders hatch, replied without looking back at Ehlark. We are just a magitank on the road. I dont think the humans will send aircraft just for us. There are probably larger groups moving towards where the Leader is. Ara turned her head towards the forest beside the road. A few elves could be seen. In reality, a hundred or so elves were in there. Something landed a few feet in front of her Knight and exploded. Ara lurched forward as her Knight came to a sudden halt. Ara, quickly gathering herself, went back into the Knight and closed her hatch. Enemy magitank to our left! Its another Knight. The turret started moving. Ehlark slid off of the side of the tank and ran into the forest Ara looked through the slits of her hatch. Off in the distance, a Knight had its gun aimed at her tank. Fire! Her magitanks shell hit the front sloped armor. First one bounced! Reload. Driver! Turn our tank towards the enemy! Another shot came from the enemy Knight and flew over her Knight. Fire! This time the shot went through the front and an explosion occurred. Ara took a deep breath and let it out. She opened the hatch and looked out towards the destroyed Knight in the grassy field. Ehlark was beside her in an instant. Are you alright Major General? Aras eyes widened at the voice of Ehlark. Oh, Ehlark, you spooked me there. Im fine. Ara turned her head to the forest. I need a squad over here! Check the enemy Knight! An elf saluted as he approached her. Major General. The bodies are definitely elves. The surrounding area seems clear though. Ara rubbed her head. We need to be more careful. We dont know who is friend or foe now. Ehlark and Ara stood side by side while observing the destroyed tank. Ara touched the hole that her Knight made in it. Any idea which unit they are from? Ehlark shook his head. Based on the designation on it, it should be from the 88th Magipanzer Division. However, the crew arent wearing a tankers uniform so they could be from another unit. Ara frowned. Their shots are so bad, I dont think they are a part of the Double Eight unless they started conscripting random elves into their division. I dont think their pride could have taken it. Four hours later Ara awaited the response of the village chief. After swallowing, the village chief spoke. Sorry, Major General. We just restarted production after another group of soldiers took ours. We barely have enough to power our village. Such a measly amount cant power your vehicles. Ara sighed and walked out of the building. Ehlark was standing outside. Ara looked at Ehlark. We may have to abandon our Knight. 0845 May 29th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. Ronell looked through the satellite images. We have spotted increased activity inside this large forest. It seems that a lot of surviving elven units are moving towards this location. Either a new Leader has arisen or Tarron isnt dead. Ronell groaned. I want this forest destroyed. Understood, Mr. President. 0833 May 30th, 2020 CE 0716 Sun 30th, 196 AE Forest of Origin, Elven Nation Many elves were working on trenches that would crisscross the main base. A single elf came running towards them. We have reports of human aircraft! Get back into the bunkers! Our observers outside the forest have reported human aircraft. The humans seem to have found us, sir. General of the Infantry Ryo Miahorn nodded. Of course, this was inevitable. Hopefully, they cant see through the forest canopy." Somewhere in the Forest of Origin I seem to be living more underground now than up above. Tarron laughed sadly as he drank. He was currently in a dimly lit room with Vuduin. The room was part of a hastily constructed building dug into the ground. There was rapid knocking on the door of his room. Whoever was on the other side of the door shouted. My Leader! We are under attack! Human aircraft are overhead. They have found us! Tarron chuckled. There seems to be nowhere I can run to anymore. Vuduin, who was sitting beside him, raised his glass. Well, we are with you till the end. Cheers. 1322 May 30th, 2020 CE 0941 Sun 30th, 196 AE Washington D.C. Hows the provisional government? Katerina smiled at Ronells question. Well, Mr. Inaneiros has been setting some things up. They are already making a census and he has elves fixing basic services in the territories we have secured. We are going directly for a democracy after the war in this situation. I wonder how well the elves will adapt to it, having never experienced it. Well, we are there as a guiding hand. We can probably fix them the same way we fixed the Germans and Japanese after World War 2. They are a nation-state unlike the Mach Imperium. Also, I heard the Bem Kingdom will be having their referendum soon. Ah, yes, that had been delayed until now because the process to strip the nobles of their titles has been complicated. The National Guard unit there has been doing quite a good job at keeping the nobles in check. The king already removed the personal armies of most of the nobles so that helped a lot. Ronell smiled. Thats good to hear. Do we have a set day for the referendum? June 6th. Less than two weeks from now. A bit of concern crossed his face on that. Aginport, Bem Kingdom Private Seth Campbell of the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Virginia Army National Guard made a big yawn as he stood guard in the street. The sun had just started going down. His squad leader, Staff Sergeant Noah Gonzales chuckled. Tired, Seth? Seth rubbed his eyes. Well, yeah, we just kicked another one of those nobles'' asses yesterday. That should have been the last one. The referendum is gonna happen soon and if that goes well, we get to go home. I didnt think being a part of the National Guard would be this much. I thought we would help people out during natural disasters. Not shooting people trying to kill us with muskets Ha. We are still soldiers. Not sure what you expected. National Guard units have been sent to fight wars since World War 2 or something. Well, at least you werent here when we deployed to Iraq. I rather fight a bunch of 17th century soldiers with muskets than terrorists with AKs and suicide vests. Well if you put it that way, I guess so. Chapter 88 – The Inevitable RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 2 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0840 May 30th, 2020 CE 0720 Sun 30th, 196 AE Forest of Origin, Elven Nation AA thauguns, positioned in openings in the forest so that their shells didnt explode in the trees, fired into the air. This isnt working! They are too fast. The human planes zoomed by before the manaflak even exploded in the air. Mark 77 incendiary bombs dropped from the F-15Es zooming overhead. The forest is on fire! We need to put it out! Sir, they are still bombing us. We cant go out! Anybody who has water abilities! We need you up here! But sir! We have to put out the fire before it spreads even further. Flames chewed through the forest and explosions rocked the ground. MacDill Air Force Base, Florida General Abrams Thompson watched the drone footage that showed the damage done on the forest. The elves seem to have put the flames out quite fast. His aide snorted. They have water magic bullshit. Of course they put it out fast. Well, the President has given specific orders for that forest to be wiped off of the face of this planet. I want more strikes on that forest. Also divert two B-52s on that. I want the place leveled. Carpet bomb it if you need to. 1722 May 30th, 2020 CE The Pentagon In his office cubicle, Daniel Gretting looked at the report on his computer screen and muttered to himself. Hm. Weird. These numbers seem to be incorrect. The past few reports were all 3 deaths from airstrikes. He scrolled through the report that detailed the latest numbers on civilian casualties. In the end, the information on these reports will have to be compiled into an overall report titled Annual Report on Civilian Casualties In Connection With United States Military Operations in 2020. Daniel looked at the time. He looked back down at his computer screen. He was just a civilian worker for the Department of Defense and it was nearly time for him to clock out. Rubbing his head, he turned off his computer and stood up. I will deal with this later. I get the feeling this is complicated shit that I got myself into. Of course it had to be fucking me to notice. 0250 May 31st, 2020 CE 0425 Sun 31st, 196 AE 87 miles from the Forest of Origin The Knight started sputtering and suddenly stopped. Ara looked down into the tank. Has the magibatteries ran out of fuel? One of her crew members shouted back. I think so. Its not starting. Ok. Everyone get out! Ara jumped off the side of the Knight and hit the ground. She turned around and looked at the Knight. The rest of the crew slid off the tank. Ehlark also slid off the side of the tank. Ara looked at Ehlark. Well, I had hoped it would have gotten us to the Forest of Origin. I didnt want to steal from those civilians if I had known we would have had to abandon it. Ehlark cocked his head. In military law and rules of conduct, seizing materials from civilians in order to aid the war effort is legal and encouraged. Ara sighed and shook her head. Are rules all you think about? Forest of Origin Tarron listened intently to Vuduin. According to reports from those who have recently arrived, there are multiple units who have defected. To the humans? No, my Leader, it seems like they couldnt bear the humiliation of turning to the humans, so instead they have formed their own independent groups. Well, they will just be a bump in the road for the humans. As long as they dont attack us, they are free to do whatever they want. Its probably better since they are bogging down the human advance. Vuduin stopped what he was saying. He wanted to warn Tarron that he was losing his grip over the country and many had become disillusioned. Tarron cocked his head. Colonel General? Oh, sorry. Was thinking if there was anything else. We do have reports of elves being attacked by other elves. Three days later 0506 June 3rd, 2020 CE 0533 Sun 34th, 196 AE Explosions shook the ground. Loose dirt fell from the ceiling and landed on Tarrons map. He swept it off and sighed. They have been bombing for the last four days already. Less than a mile away Ara stood in utter shock. The Forest of Origin looked almost unrecognizable. What was once a lush green forest had become grey charred wood and blackened dirt. What Ehlark had a grim look on his face. The humans found out. Ara gritted her teeth. Who goes there!? Ara and Ehlark pulled out their pistols while her de facto unit raised their rifles and submachine guns. They turned to face an elf approaching them Im Major General Ara Balra of the 11th Blitzpanzer Division. Who am I speaking to? The elf saluted. Private Rhys Keagella of the Leader Security Company. Is the Leader still alive? He is. We have set up a bunker system in the forest. Human aircraft have been bombarding us daily for the past four days but its been holding up. I would like to meet with the Leader. I will see what I can do. Are these elves from your division? No. These are just survivors that I gathered at random. I havent bothered to check which unit they were from. 45 minutes later Ara entered the room and immediately saluted. My Leader! Major General. I would like to commend you for safely guiding a hundred elves here. Just doing my duty, sir. Good to hear. May I inquire about our current situation? I have not been able to communicate with any form of command. Tarron smiled at that. This is Colonel General Vuduin Roqen. He will update you on the current situation. Ara gave a salute to Vuduin. Vuduin nodded. Lets take this conversation outside. There is much to inform you about. Ah, before you two go, I forgot something important. Congratulations, Major General Ara Balra, Im awarding you a two rank promotion to General of the Magipanzers. Also, so much has been happening for the past few days and this is far overdue but Colonel General Vuduin Roqen, you have been promoted to Field Marshal. I expect much from you two, General of the Magipanzers Balra and Field Marshal Roqen. They both saluated. Thank you my Leader! The Forest of Origin is currently the only place in our actual control. Everything else not controlled by humans is in our de jure control. We have been bombed daily and its worsening. Truth to be told Vuduin stopped. Ara eyed him. Vuduin looked around and lowered his voice. Truth to be told, I dont think this war is currently in our favor. Our current government has lost legitimacy. Im pretty sure you have been fired upon by other elves. I would actually suggest surre negotiations with the humans. You know if you said that to most other elves, they would probably report you for treason. However, I agree with that. But with how you are saying it, I guess our Leader isnt too keen on that idea. Vuduin laughed. Im a Field Marshal now and Im currently quite close with Tarron. He will believe my words more than anybody else. They exited the bunker. They were deeper in the forest and this portion wasnt as devastated as other parts of the forest. Vuduin continued. I have been talking with a few other officers who also are thinking like me. But we dont want to do anything premature. Any orders then? Those 500 or so elves you led here have been assigned to you. We also have a couple hundred elves that will also be under your command. Not much but that will have to do. Which unit were you from, again? The 11th Blitzpanzer Division. I believe we have some survivors from your units. With magipanzers too. They will be assigned to you. Ara smiled. Im happy to hear. My elves are some hardy ones. Also, I dont need you to write up a report about what you faced during your retreat here. We have more important things to do. We have been building up defensive positions. Trenches, bunkers, and such. I will take you to the command center and give you the exact locations. An hour later Ara found Ehlark among the other elves she had left. Ehlark! I got promoted to General of the Magipanzers. You are under my command now. Glad to hear that, General. Not sure if Im allowed to do this but Im giving you a five rank promotion. Congratulations Colonel Valzana. Ummmm Ara chuckled. Any higher you will be a general and Im pretty sure Im not allowed to do that. But I do need a second in command. You may follow the rules too much but you are probably the most suited. 0822 June 3rd, 2020 CE 0711 Sun 34th, 196 AE White House Cralson updated him on the current military situation. Most areas have fallen under our control. There has been limited and ineffective resistance from the elves. I believe we have broken them. Ronell frowned. Then why hasnt this war ended? It seems that the elves would rather become independent forces than surrender to us. We have witnessed elves fighting amongst themselves while still fighting us. Ronell frowned. Ok, whats next? Katrina? Katrina handed him a report titled Preparations for the First Bem Elections. We have the full list of candidates from the electoral committee. The Bem have around an 60% literacy rate so the candidates are using symbols to represent themselves. Hows the security situation there? We have National Guardsmen posted at voting sites, protecting candidates, and patrolling settlements. Aginport, Bem Kingdom Seth stood guard at an election site and watched as people walked into the building. He spoke to Noah. So they are doing the presidential elections first? There are already a couple parties and quite a few independents on the ballot. They even have a monarchist party. Seth raised his eyebrows and groaned. What? Yeah seriously, I dont really know their goal but I do hope they just want a figurehead. Well, theres something even worse. The Nobles Party. Oh come on. Guess what they want. Fuck off. Staff Sergeant. I dont wanna hear anymore. Noah laughed. Chapter 89 – The Occupied Territories RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the late release! I''m trying to get my schedule back on track. Had a hectic last week cause of final projects and exams (I''m still surprised that I was able to get a chapter out last week XD). Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 2 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0848 June 3rd, 2020 CE 0724 Sun 34th, 196 AE Aginport, Bem Kingdom Side by side, two Bem men wearing full-skirted knee-length coats, knee breeches, and a vest, which seemed straight out of 18th century Europe, walked by an electric light pole. Say, Glover, chap, I know they made us register for this and issued us ID cards but I have yet to be informed of how this voting works. Glover scratched his head. Have you not been reading the Aginport Daily Journal, my old friend? It has a full description of how to do so. It also said that if we are confused, they will have people there to help us. Now, what Im more concerned about is whether or not these Americans will rig this in their favor in order to have control of us. Now, now, why would they care about controlling us? Ervin, it is of most sense. Any normal country would want to control another country. Thats just how the world works these days. Ervin waved around. Then they dont have to put such effort into doing this. They already have full control of our country. Look around us, we are basically an occupied nation. Both watched as an American soldier walked by holding his automatic rifle. Ervin continued. And besides, they have given us so much unlike the Mach Imperium. They even created an electric company to give us electricity. Well, it is just a subsidiary of an American company and they havent given everyone electricity. They still gave us electricity in the end. Better medicine, interesting products, and their food is great. I dont have anything to argue against that. They took their place at the end of the line that stretched outside the polling station. American soldiers were more present than on the streets but there were also some Bem soldiers who were armed with muskets. Walking into the polling station, they were greeted by a man dressed just like them sitting at a desk. He looked up at Ervin. Please present your ID card. Ervin showed it. Okay, please sign your name on this form. A few minutes later Ervin found Glover as he walked out of the polling station. So, who did you vote for? Glover raised an eyebrow. Well, who did you vote for? A predicament indeed. How about we say it together. Sure. Thats a terrific idea. I will count down. Ready? Glover nodded. "Three. Two. One. Ervins words came out a second earlier. Milton Wareham of the Bem Democracy Party. Ned Hays of the Unity Party. Why Ned Hays? Hes a bit too conservative there. Well, I like the status quo. Too much change doesnt suit me well. He isnt bringing much change to the laws from what I have read." We have a new system. We should have new laws to go along with it. Its only of most sense. Ervin, I never saw you as one of those revolutionaries. Oh, pish posh, Glover. Everything has changed. By any standards, the Democracy Party isnt revolutionary at all. If you want revolutionary, then look at the New World Party. 0812 June 5th, 2020 CE 0706 Sun 36th, 196 AE White House Ronell looked through the report on the election results of the Bem presidential elections. Katrina was beside him. With 54% of the vote, Milton Wareham of the Bem Democracy Party won the presidential elections. Ronell nodded slowly as he read. What did they campaign on? Closer relations with us, improvements to civil rights, and support for free market capitalism seem to be their main focus. That sounds decent. There are other good options but much better than the Monarchist Restoration Party or the Nobles Party. Ronell looked up at Katrina. Theres already a party that wants to restore the monarchy? They only had about 2% of the votes. We literally just got rid of the monarchy. Ronell shook his head. I want to have a meeting with Mr. Wareham as soon as possible. Katrina nodded. I will set that up. Also, when are the parliamentary elections occurring? We are hoping no more than six months from now but that isnt guaranteed. Well, at least we have someone up there running the country. Port City of Filanneas The Port City of Filanneas had become the temporary capital city of the New Elven Nation. Of course with Afvalin becoming a massive lake, the port city could actually become the permanent capital. Anfalen sat at the desk of his office in the Presidential Building. The Americans had made him interim president. He looked through the papers stacked on his desk. Reporting everything ranging from the food situation in every city to the appointment of new officials. Anfalen was glad to see that rebuilding efforts had already begun in multiple cities albeit slowly. They had just gotten the power back on in this city. He looked at one of the reports and sighed. The main problem was how hostile most elves were to the humans. The Americans were already on his skin about the situation. There were those who just didnt care about the humans. But quite a lot ranged from skeptical to outright suicidally hostile. It was going to take a lot of work to change the hearts and minds of the population after living so long under a regime with the main goal of teaching everyone to hate humans. Right now he was placating the population using the promise that once they established this new government, the humans would be gone. Anfalen feared that once he wasnt President anymore, a dumb zealot in his place would launch another idiotic war against the humans again. Another concern right now was the loss of population. Some cities lost 50% of their population due to the war. It was estimated that by the end of the war, 25% to 50% of the elven population would have died. Recovery might take decades. He got on his phone and called up an aide. He had to deal with the short term problems right now and worry about the long term ones later. The aide entered the room. Send the magibattery engineers we have in this city to the Port City of Ilysesari. We need to get power back as soon as possible in every city. In the streets of the Port City of Filanneas Everyone kept a wide distance from the human soldier. Some stared at him hostilely. Arasne Qinrieth walked briskly to the food market in order to get out of the tense atmosphere. With current infrastructure in tatters, much of the food here came from relief aid from the humans, more specifically the Americans. Some avoided it but she relatively didnt care as long as it kept her fed. As she looked through the selection of vegetables, a human military vehicle colored in various shades of green drove past her. Someone threw a rock at it but missed and it kept going. Getting her groceries, she got back home in a few minutes. She turned on the lights. The power had just come back on a few days ago and she was thankful for it. She was thankful for a lot of things. The fact that she survived, that the humans occupiers werent being hostile, and that things were actually going back to normal. 0912 June 5th, 2020 CE 0755 Sun 36th, 196 AE Forest of Origin <<>> Two B-52s cruised through the skies in formation. The bomb bay doors of both B-52s opened up. Bombs started dropping in a slow pace. The forest below started exploding. An elven officer shook his head. They completely destroyed a portion of the forest. Everything is gone. The entire defensive network, a hundred or so elves are all gone. They are seeking to completely destroy us all. What do we do, Field Marshal? We have nowhere else to run. They are shooting at us like fish in a barrel. We only have one option left. I dont like it but we wont survive if we continue. Subican Kingdom, Soane Continent Well, King Ferdinand. What do you have to say for yourself? Vilos lioness figure loomed over the king who was clearly trembling in fear. Commander Flametail I was forced to do this I had to do this to save my people. The situation was hopeless. They came at us with tanks and guns. You have to understand. Vilo snorted and turned to walk away. You threw yourself at their feet the moment they arrived and offered your full collaboration. You sent your own army to fight us. No matter how much I would like to kill you right now, the Council will deal with you. Knights, take him away. Ron quickly followed after her. Jeb and Ahab also started to take their leave. Behind them, the king struggled. What are you doing!? Im the king of this nation. Get your hands off of me! Vilo turned and glared at him. Or, I could tell the Council an accident happened and a sword accidentally found its way cleaved into your head. Im pretty sure the Council will understand. The king emitted an eep and went quiet. Ahab walked beside Vilo. The elves are pretty much broken at this point. Quite a lot of the occupied nations have declared their liberation. I wonder if you guys even need our services anymore. Vilo nodded. Thats up to the Council. And your contract hasn''t ended yet. We still have some resisting elements to sweep up. Ahab chuckled. The resisting elves have no armored support anymore and barely have any ammo left. My country has nearly conquered the elves'' homeland. Well, it still feels nice to kick their ass. Chapter 90 – The Plan to End It All RonTheBlackCat I think I''m experiencing burnout and I''m questioning why I started to write. My mind wants to write yet at the same time it doesn''t (its telling me to be lazy but be creative at the same time which is an conundrum). I have so many story ideas swirling in my mind (I already have ideas for two spinoffs for a story that I haven''t started writing yet). I want to write them and this all at once but there''s no way I am able do that. I really wonder how some authors have multiple books going on at once and where they find the time to write an entire novel in less than a few months. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 2 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0844 June 7th, 2020 CE 0722 Sun 38th, 196 AE Forest of Origin Ara sat down across from Vuduin. She looked around. I hope the messenger gets there in time. He probably wont. We will have to leave before this place is completely burned and bombed to the ground. We can trust the messenger right? Navarres actually a very close friend. I trust him with my life. Ara nodded. Now, how are we going to leave without Tarron catching wind of us doing so? We dont. Even he will know when we need to relocate from a position. We will be leaving with him? How are we supposed to surrender to the humans then? He will most definitely stop us. Oh, you dont have to worry about that. I have been keeping an eye on whos the most loyal to him and whos having doubts. I will give you the plan soon. Are you sure the humans will treat us well? Im gambling on it. We are really short on time. I wanted to ask for pardons first before we gave them the information but that will take too long. Anfalen seemed to have defected to the humans so we may have a chance. 0929 June 7th, 2020 CE 0744 Sun 38th, 196 AE White House Ronell checked his appearance as he sat in front of a screen. He looked back down at a dossier given to him by the National Security Council. It was packed with information about Milton Wareham. Beside him, a translator fluent in Latin stood. The screen then flickered on. On the screen, Ronell could see the American ambassador to the Bem Republic. The ambassador turned his back and nodded to someone behind him. The ambassadors face left the screen to show another person sitting at a desk. He had a bushy white mustache and was a bit rotund. He had a friendly look. He was wearing black knee length coat and a powdered wig. There was a translator beside him. Ronell smiled. Congratulations, President Wareham. I hope to see your administration create the first democracy of this world. Thank you, President Hayes. My administration shall do the best it can. Thats good to hear. I want to know if theres anything on your agenda or any help we can offer. The Bem Republic is interested in continued cooperation with the United States of America. I hope your country reciprocates this interest. Of course. Of course. We will do whatever we can in developing a stable democracy in the Bem Republic. The thing that worries me the most right now is the discontent from formal nobles. I fear they may be plotting a way to take back power. I abhor the Nobles Party and Im currently debating on banning them. Outlawing a political party would set a dangerous precedent. Unless they directly act or there is proof of collaboration with violent entities, I would not recommend banning them. A stable democracy should accept other political ideologies and movements. However, there will be American soldiers on the ground in your country to keep the peace. We are hoping to establish an indefinite military base on your territory. My country will gladly welcome that. Although that may depend on the parliament once its established. Well, we will continue operating the current airfields in your country in order to support the war against the elves. Once the war is over and the situation in your country is stable, there will be a scaling down of troops. However, we will base soldiers in the military base we establish. Most likely ten thousand or so. Maybe even more. After a few more minutes, the video call ended. It was more of a simple courtesy call but Ronell felt that it got much accomplished. Seems like a good man. We can work with this. Katrina nodded. Well, we can only truly know from his actions. But I think things will go smoothly. 1025 June 7th, 2020 CE 0812 Sun 38th, 196 AE Forest of Origin Human aircraft zipped through the sky, dropping more and more bombs. Even with the size of the forest, the elves were taking heavy casualties. The humans were slowly demolishing every square inch of the forest. The only thing the elves could do was sit in their bunkers and hope they wont blow up. What they feared most was when two gigantic aircraft flew over. Those dropped gigantic loads of bombs capable of reducing a couple square miles to charred wasteland. Vuduin entered into the room where Tarron was in. My Leader, we need to disperse. This forest is no longer safe. We have lost too much elves trying to hold this position without even doing damage to the humans. The few anti-air thauguns we had are all gone. Startled, Tarron looked towards Vuduin. A bit of dirt fell from the roof of the ceiling. And how do you recommend doing this dispersion? We have nowhere to go. We spent so much energy building all of this. Its no use. Its slowly getting destroyed. We shouldnt have regrouped here. We will split into multiple companies spread out across this countryside. Less effective, true, but we wont be sitting ducks. Vuduin pulls out a small map from a case and sets it on the table. This is how I have our units spread out. My Leader, you will be with your security company and will be in a safe location away from the fighting. White House Ronell looked at the people in his office. A military aide seems to be the one giving information. What is this urgent report about? An elven soldier approached our forces about ten minutes ago claiming to be a messenger for an elven field marshal. He gave us a letter from said field marshal. What did it say? Heres a digital copy. He hands Ronell a tablet. Basically, the writer introduces himself as Field Marshal Roqen and is currently with Tarron in the forest that we are currently bombing. So that bastard is still alive. Military intelligence told me he was dead. Goddamit. This field marshal is claiming that he and many other elven military officials are contemplating surrendering. He claims that Tarron would never agree to it so he created a plan to end this war. He will disperse the elven military outside the forest. Some of them will be surrendering while the others we can wipe out. Hes also asking for him, the other surrendering officials, and their men to be pardoned. How are we going to know where they are then? We havent received it yet but he gave us a map of where all the units he planned will be. It has units marked that are going to surrender and those that aren''t. We even know where Tarron will be in about two days. Tarron will have a security company with him and most likely a couple of tanks. Ronell read through the message. This could be a trap. True, but we can have drones recon the area to see if it is. If it isnt, we can end this war. Has someone sent this to Anfalen? For confirmation about this Roqen fellow? We are being cautious at who we give this information to. The only people who know about this on our side are the commanding officer who read this and everyone in this room. Although i can get someone to talk to him about whether or not he has heard of Field Marshal Roqen Ok, so Anfalen has heard of him. But he was a Colonel General. I guess he was recently promoted. Glad we can confirm that. Now just to see if the information that was given to us was correct. I want special forces on standby to capture Tarron if we find him. Mr.President. The elven messenger is requesting a response to send back to the field marshal. Let me write a response to thank them. I will guarantee to pardon them if the information is true. Pentagon Daniel looked through the reports. He scrolled through past ones. He started muttering. Somethings not right someones trying to hide something. All he wanted to do was to ignore this because he knew this would involve a lot of shit that he wasnt going to be happy to go through. But his damn conscience was screaming at him to do something. He needed to talk to someone. About five hours later In a caf, Daniel sipped on a coffee as he waited for his friend. It didnt take long for his buddy from the same agency of the DoD. Charles, how has your day been? Heard you got a promotion. Congratulations! Charles sat down and smiled. Thank you, I have been doing well. How are you Daniel? This is unusual. We usually dont meet right after work. Well, theres a reason I called you here today. Do you want to get something to drink or eat before we talk about it? Charles shook his head. Daniel gave a quick look around and lowered his voice. I think someone is messing with the civilian casualty reports. Some of the data I was looking through seemed suspicious. Something flashed over Charles'' face before going back to normal. Daniel guessed it was probably shock from what he was telling him. What is it? What do you mean by suspicious? Some of the data seems to be repeating. It''s as if someone is trying to hide something. Charles kept silent. Daniel continued. For all I know, the President could be trying to hide things from Congress. And that is way above my pay grade. I dont want to play the hero but this is some serious stuff. Im not sure what to do and who to report this to. Then maybe you shouldnt. We dont know who is trying to change the data. It could ruin your life. Someone up there could try to get rid of you. Daniel sighed. I just dont know. Chapter 91 – The End of an Era is Here RonTheBlackCat Sorry about being gone for a week! Had to take a rest from all this writing. We are now back on schedule. Hooray! I feel the arrest of Tarron is a bit lacking... hmmm Also the title comes from a lyric in a Sabaton song. Can you guys guess which one? Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 2 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1711 June 7th, 2020 CE Pentagon Quincy had his reading glasses on as he scanned through a piece of paper. So what are you here for today, Charles? Um Quincy. Quincy put the paper down and raised his eyebrow at Charles. Spit it out, I dont have all day. Someone may have found out about what we are trying to do. That got Quincys full attention. ...who? Not totally but someone I know believes that something was suspicious with the reports. Hes thinking about investigating it. You fucking fool. Tell me their name. Um I dont think we have to worry. He doesnt seem Quincy cut him off. Spit it out or I swear your life will be a living hell from this point forward. Charles looked to the side. Daniel Gretting. Hes a coworker. He talked to me about the civilian casualty reports being weird and wanted my advice. 1025 June 7th, 2020 CE 0812 Sun 38th, 196 AE Forest of Origin Tarron reviewed the plan that Vuduin had given him. And you are sure this is a good plan? I have already talked with the other high ranking officers and they have approved. Its better than us sitting here until we get bombed to oblivion. And where will I be exactly? You will be with your security company at an isolated location. It should be labeled on the map. Vuduin pointed at the red circle with LSC labeled on it. Then he pointed to another red circle labeled Vuduin. I will be in command of the center. I will lead about 500 or so elves to garrison this town. We will subjugate any rogue elves we find. I dont expect there to be much since this is less than 60 miles away from here. 20 minutes later In one of the rooms of the bunker system in the forest, Ara looked at the map presented to her by Vuduin. So we are defecting to the humans then? Im not sure how my elves will take this. Vuduin smiled. Dont worry. We will be surrounded and then forced to surrender. Of course, we wont be doing much fighting. We will be intentionally falling into a trap. 1422 June 7th, 2020 CE 1011 Sun 38th, 196 AE It had only been an hour since Vuduin and his unit set off in the cover of darkness when the elves at the front of the unit noticed a car barreling towards them. Vuduin, who was on foot with his other aides, was approached by an elf from his unit. Field Marshal, theres an elf who claims to be your friend and has an important message. Lead him to me. The elven messenger approached Vuduin. Vuduin looked at his aides. Please give me some privacy. This is sensitive information. After getting out of hearing distance, Vuduin looked at the messenger. Navarre, did you relay the message? Navarre nodded. The humans have guaranteed a pardon to you and your soldiers and officers. Well done. How long did it take you? It was a short car ride. The humans are about 100 or so miles away from us. Wasnt that long. Okay. I need you to send another message. This time, stay with the humans and dont come back. Understood? Yes, sir. Vuduin handed him a piece of paper. I will see you there. One hours later White House The camera on the MQ-9 Reaper drone rotated. Ronell watched the green tinted video feed. Multiple others were watching it with him. There are a lot of elven soldiers down there. This might be it. How many soldiers are we dealing with? According to the elven messenger, there should be around two hundred of them with armored vehicles. That large group seems to be them. We have yet to confirm if Tarron is there. I want his location to be confirmed and the surrounding area be surveyed before sending in Task Force 141. 20 minutes later It has just been confirmed. They are in a very vulnerable position. There is no other elven soldiers in the surrounding area and we have confirmation that someone matching Tarrons description is there. Ronell smiled. Tell the commander in charge of this operation that I want that bastard alive. 1533 June 7th, 2020 CE 1046 Sun 38th, 196 AE 40 miles from the Forest of Origin Three AH-6 Little Birds, an egg-shaped helicopter with a minigun and rocket pod on each side, touched down. Four men jumped off the sides of each helicopter. The 12-men Delta Force team quickly disembarked and the Little Birds took off. A hellfire missile shot out from the Reaper drone that had been observing the Leader Security Company. The Stallion exploded as the missile slammed into it. The elves took one glance at the burning husk of a light tank and moved into action. The humans are here! Guard the Leader! Tarron looked around at the commotion. Suddenly an elf came up to him and saluted. My Leader, we need to leave! Quickly! They rushed Tarron in the direction of the Forest of Origin. Five Black Hawks and two Chinooks touched down on the plains a few miles in front of the elves. Men of Bravo Company, 1st Ranger Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment fanned out and crouched after they disembarked from their helicopters. The Chinooks left as soon as they were empty but the Black Hawks lifted off and pressed forwards. The ground a few miles in front of them lit up. Shots flew overhead the Rangers as the elves opened fire at the lights of the helicopter. The crouched Rangers immediately went prone. Keep your head down! Jesus Christ! Did they fucking land us too close?!" The concentrated and accurate fire from the elves was overwhelming. <<>> The Little Birds came from behind the elves and started pouring down lead and rockets. That momentarily broke the elven fire on the Rangers. That was just enough time for the Rangers to set up their Mk 48 machine gun and return fire. The gunners on the doors of the Black Hawks spewed bullets down on the elves using minguns. Despite the support from the helicopters, the Rangers continued to face intense fire from the Security Company. Ten minutes later In the heat of the battle, one of the Little Bird pilots noticed that he was starting to lose control. Bullet holes riddled his glass but luckily none had hit him. He looked at the tail of his helicopter and in the darkness, barely noticed that smoke was pouring out. <<>> The pilot struggled with the controls as the helicopter started swishing left and right. A platoon of twenty five elves hurried Tarron. They were moving away from the fighting. Two of the elves had a small fireball in their palms. Tarron turned to the Lieutenant that was closely following him. Do we have any other units near us? No, my Leader, they are too far away. The humans seem to have known we were isolated. Realization dawned on him. Vuduin! You bastard! The platoon looked at Tarron in surprise. A crack was heard and one the elves dropped dead with blood gushing out of his head. Sniper! The elves get down and pull Tarron to the ground. They opened fire with their submachine guns towards the right, where the shot came from. The Delta sniper kept his head down as bullets whizzed past him. Shit. How the fuck did they see me so fast in the night. They dont have night vision goggles. Fucking hell. <<>> A stream of shots started coming towards the elves from their left. Tarron kept his head down as his ears felt deaf from the bullets whizzing overhead. It felt like forever but the shooting stopped and everything went silent. Tarron could hear the crunching of boots on the ground. He looked up. Humans approached him wearing strange headgear and pointing guns at him. Tarron looked around to see that the entire platoon protecting him was dead, mostly from headshots. Tarron raised his hands. One of the humans handled him roughly and tied him up while the other said something. <<>> 60 miles from the Forest of Origin Vuduin received reports that his forward elements had ran into a large group of humans and were forced to retreat under intense fire. Vuduins magiradio operator spoke up again after giving that first report. Field Marshal. We have reports of a large number of human soldiers to our flanks and read. We are surrounded! Give me the magiradio. <<>> The soldiers murmured among themselves. Some looked grim and a few started throwing down their weapons. Soon the rest joined. It was the final straw. They were clearly losing, they had suffered from intense human bombardment in the forests with no ability to fight back, and now they were surrounded and informed that their leader had been captured. Vuduin made the last part up but he was certain that Tarron was either dead or captured at this point. White House Ronell heaved a sigh of relief as he watched the video feed from the soldiers camera. I think this thing is about over. Not quite yet, Mr.President. We still have rogue elven elements across this region. Chapter 92 – Let The Politics Begin RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 2 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Sorry about the one day delay. Its the end of my winter break and I''m back at my college dorm. 1650 June 7th, 2020 CE 1125 Sun 38th, 196 AE 40 miles from the Forest of Origin The survivors of the Leader Security Company were tied up after they surrendered. <<>> 1745 June 7th, 2020 CE Nashville, Tennessee Jack noticed the words Breaking News flashed across the TV. <<>> Jack slightly frowned since that wasnt that much news. It was a war against a nation more than 70 years technologically behind. It was over before it started. He didnt expect many people to be overly celebratory about it or take notice at all. Aginport, Bem Kingdom A group of men sat around a table. One of the men stood up. The results were, as predicted, not in our favor. It is of most sense that those stinky peasants wont vote for us. At the head of the table, Duke Philpot looked sternly at the one who stood up. Earl Fawns, sit down. This is a meeting. Not one of your parties. Now, now, who put you in charge? You arent even a duke anymore. None of us have titles anymore. But we will address each other as if we didnt lose them. Understood? Now sit down. Earl Fawns grumbled as he sat. The Duke shook his head. Now, do any of you have anything else you would like to share before we begin. Baron Pettitt spoke out. Duke Philpot, I have a proposition. The Duke nodded. Should we join forces with the monarchist party? The Duke frowned as Earl Fawns chuckled. Earl Corbeld responded. They are just a bunch of wealthy peasants who bribe the KIng. Once they realize they can do the same thing with a democracy, they will turn on us. A few murmurs rose up and the nobles in the room started random discussions. Duke Philpot raised his voice. Quiet. Quiet. Enough with the acting gentlemen. We all know what we want. Baron Bacon shook his head. It isnt possible. The Duke smiled. It is. These Americans will leave eventually. And how are you certain they are going to leave? Before I lost my title, I was able to come upon the previous King discussing with the Americans about their planned withdrawal after the country became a democracy. I didnt hear everything but Im sure they are planning to leave. And how are you planning to do this? Our personal armies have all been disbanded. I have a few of my most loyal personal knights at my beck and call. Im sure you all still have those who greatly favor you and we can always find dissenters to fill the rest of our ranks. All the fallen nobles looked at each other. So, its agreed. It''s time to gather an army then. Once these Americans leave, we will strike. Now, meeting Earl Fawns stood up and interjected. But what about afterwards? The Duke narrowed his eyes. What do you mean afterwards? The Americans wont miraculously disappear after we overthrow the current government. They will be back and we have no power to stop them. Im sure you have seen their weapons of war? The room fell silent. 0244 June 8th, 2020 CE 0422 Sun 39th, 196 AE Port City of Filanneas, Elven Nation Anfalen spoke into the magiradio microphone. <<>> Anfalen greeted the American delegation. Before we begin, I want to know. When will your forces start leaving? The head of the delegation, Ambassador Henry Cole, frowned. President Inaneiros, you have to understand, we can not leave immediately. But I promised my elves that Your promise is your promise. We only promised to leave once the current situation is over. Anfalen raised an eyebrow. But it is over. You still have rogue elements in your country. We can deal with it ourselves. You are sure? Anfalen slightly frowned. ... We know you dont have an army and are in no position to fight even against rogue units. Anfalen fell quiet for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and sighed. I understand that. Sorry. That was unreasonable of me. Im under a lot of pressure right now. We understand that. Once the last of the rogue units have surrendered and you have created a force capable of keeping the peace, we will leave. That is good to hear. This leads me to the main thing Im here about. The treaty, correct? The Ambassador nodded. Usually, the terms will be discussed between delegates from both nations. However, you have expressed the wish to directly negotiate it. Is that true? Yes, my current government is being set up and Im not sure who to trust and who has the ability to do this. Then lets begin with the talks. Thirty minutes later We will keep Tarron in our custody and will decide what will happen to him at a later date. Anfalen nodded. I would prefer you have executed him so we dont have anyone who thinks they can put the Leader back in power. We dont want to make a martyr either. But we will hold off on what to do with him. With that out of the way, here comes the harder part of our demands. Anfalen slowly spoke. Go ahead. My government is looking at placing a brigade strength military unit here in order to keep an eye on things. Anfalen stood up in an instant. WHAT? He sat back down quickly and took a second before talking again. Then whats the point of you promising me you will leave if you actually arent? I only say we are looking into it. We are also looking into leaving completely. But we want to ensure that you elves dont start another war. Anfalen chuckled. We have literally been devastated. Our economy and population is gone. We cant start another war. But Im pretty sure your country has a few that wont be afraid to. Anfalen became quiet. ... Im afraid so but as long as Im in power. I promise you, there wont be any aggression from us. I will rebuild this country and I will clean up the brainwashing that Tarron and his father did. We cant just take your word for this. And we arent sure how long you can stay in power. I will stay in power for as long as I can. And you are sure you are able to keep a country of fanatics under control? You are very susceptible to an assassination or coup attempt. Not all elves are fanatics. Henry didnt say anything. Anfalen pursed his lips. Ok look, if the situation gets bad, I will inform your government and ask for help. But I will NOT allow any humans on our land during times of peace. There will be severe consequences for everyone if I do. This isnt a threat. This is just a fact. Henry nodded. I will pass this along to my government. Good. What else? We would also like to continue providing aid to your nation. You will not have to pay it back. We hope that by doing this, we can improve relations with elves. I can not decide on that right now. Anfalen was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He knew that he needed that aid but the problem was that it came from humans. He himself didnt care but that didnt matter. The average elf would care. The food aid that the Americans were providing were already being avoided by some of the elves. Somewhere in the Elven Nation Target is direct front. Fire! The Stallion that was racing across the fields burst into flames as a shot from the Abrams tank went through it. Good. That should be the last of them in this area. They really suck at guerilla tactics. It wont be long before we are sent back home. Man, I cant wait. The native population here is just too hostile. Chapter 93 – Negotiations, Demands, and Reconstruction RonTheBlackCat IMPORTANT Sorry about updating so late! This is because the update time for AIAW has changed! Because I have to wake up at 6:30 am for my first Monday class and my last Monday class ends at 10:30 pm, it is no longer feasible for me to post chapters on Sunday (I already fucked up and missed a class through oversleeping). Ah, the woes of being college student. The new update time is still kinda undecided but is among these three options: Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday night or Thursday afternoon (US Central Time). I will inform y''all when I come to a decision. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 2 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0644 June 8th, 2020 CE 0622 Sun 39th, 196 AE Port City of Filanneas, Elven Nation This has been quite the productive meeting, President Inaneiros. We have gone a bit over time and we would also like to contact our government for further instructions so we shall continue this tomorrow. Anfalen looked at Henrys outstretched hand questionably. Ah sorry, it is an etiquette for hum Americans to shake hands at either the start or end of an important meeting. Ah. Noted. Anfalen stood up to shake Henrys hand. Thank you, Americans. I hope we come to a final treaty soon.. Thank you, President Inaneiros. I hope so too. I would also like to inform you that the delegation from the Magus imperium will also be arriving tomorrow. Anfalen thought for a few seconds before raising his eyebrow. And which country is that? Henry chuckled a bit. The country your nation had invaded. A worried look washed over Anfalens face. Ah, yes. The Magus Imperium. I nearly forgot. Noting Anfalens expression, Henry nodded. Do not worry. Their demands will not be over the top. We understand that your nation is currently suffering. We have requested that they do not demand any land concessions. However they may require payment for damages that you have caused. As soon as the Americans left, Anfalen immediately called in his aides. They had a lot of work to do. Thabel, Elven Nation Thabel was a city that was untouched by the war since it was on the other side of the mountain. An elf messenger carrying a satchel hanging from his shoulder knocked on the door of a house. An elf female answered the door. The messenger looked at the letter he held. Ms.Rowarin? Yes what is it? He handed the letter to her. Im sorry to inform you that your husband has died in the service of his country. A shocked expression passed over her face as her hand holding the letter trembled. The messenger lowered his cap to cover his eyes. Im sorry for your loss. The messenger left and travelled two houses away to knock on another door. With such a large number of deaths, it took time for the news of it to reach a family member. In fact, Anfalen had to set up a system in order to speed up the process. Messengers were hired to be in charge of delivering it at their jurisdictions whenever they received the letters. It wasnt long before they were called the Messengers of Grief. Abellinum, Magus Imperium Emperor Arstant watched as people scurried around. The sound of hammers and the clanking of machines were everywhere. Rubble littered the ground of a once bustling city. Buildings have just begun taking shape again. Emperor Arstant listened to his Head Economic Advisor who had a grim look. This will take a year or so to completely rebuild. Probably more for the people to come back. How much damage has all this done to our economy? The entire southern region has taken a massive hit. It is predicted that there will be more than a 90% reduction in regional productivity. We are also afraid that the entire southern region is vulnerable to a famine. Although originally self-sufficient, the amount of farms and cropland torched by the elves have slashed food production by nearly 75%. We need to send food from the northern region southward. Do we have enough? The economic advisor looked through his notepad. To prepare for the worst, we are thinking of implementing a ration. However, Im hoping we can demand food from the elves. I will add that onto the list of demands. 1022 June 8th, 2020 CE White House Quincy walked besides the President as they went down a hallway in the White House. Arent we being a bit too lenient here? They wanted to enslave all of humanity and would have succeeded if we werent here. The elves are one hell of a powderkeg. If we push it, it''s just going to explode in our face. We won the war. Why do we have to be so cautious? We have to reshape these elves whether they like it or not. Set up a military government. Show them who is in charge now. Quincy, after our experience in the Middle East, nobody in their right mind will want to take on this mess. I dont want to be remembered as the President who created another Afghanistan or Iraq. Im actually glad there is somebody sensible in charge of the elves. You are taking a risk with that Anfalen. Im willing to take that risk lest we be dragged into another endless war. 1645 June 8th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. In a park, Quincy sighed as a man in a T-shirt and sweatpants sat down beside him. Trevor, Im getting sick and tired of these meetings that I have to travel to. We dont want to risk having someone listening in on our conversation on the phone. I wont be surprised if your phone is bugged. You know that as well as I do that this is the best place. Not many people. No cameras. We can see our surroundings Not suggesting we change. Just complaining. So how did it go? I couldnt convince him. Give me some time. Trevor looked around before continuing. General, I want you to remember there''s a couple million dollars for you on the line here. Quincy put his head back onto the bench and looked at the sky. Dont worry. I will find a way. I always have. I have heard plans that Congress wants to decrease the military budget. That can not happen. With no more countries to export to, my company wants needs that money. Understood? You will get your contracts. I promise. Just continue developing those jets. You dont have to worry about anything. Good. The CEO expects to see results. 0332 June 9th, 2020 CE 0446 Sun 40th, 196 AE Port City of Filanneas, Elven Nation The members of the American delegation looked behind them as the door to Anfalens office opened. Anfalen stood up. Welcome. The delegation from the Magus Imperium I presume. Im President Inaneiros, the current leader of the elves. The Americans have informed me of your arrival today. The Magusians barely acknowledged Anfalen as they walked in and sat down in the chairs that had been prepared for them. Im Head Diplomat Jeph Benedict. We are here not to negotiate but to demand compensation. I understand that and I would like to apologize on behalf of all elves for what we have done. Jephs frown deepened. Thousands are dead and tens of thousands are without homes. All major cities in the southern region of my country are nothing but ashes and rubble. An apology will not suffice. What are your demands? A delivery of 1 million tons of agricultural foodstuff once every year for the next two years. A total of 2 million tons of steel, bricks, and wood each. 500 tons of gold. 250 tons of silver. Other than the food, we expect them to be delivered to us within 4 years. Blueprints for every single weapon design. Guns, ships, magitanks, everything. We also hope to receive intact and working weapons. 100 magitanks. 6,000 small arms of each type. 1,000 of each type of thaugun which includes artillery, anti-tank, and anti-air. Two of your latest battleships, one carrier, five cruisers, five destroyers, and ten submarines. 100 of each type of military aircraft. We also expect manuals on how to use all of them. These are our main demands. More minor demands are included in these documents. Jeph threw a heap of papers onto the table. The room fell silent. Anfalens face was of pure shock. Even the Americans were showing some shock. Anfalen quickly Okay I will say this right now. Some of these demands cant be possibly met. We are willing to change some of these demands. However, the result will be under our terms." Somewhere in the Elven Nation Tarron looked grimly around his cell. After being thrown onto the helicopter and flown for a few hours to some city, he was then locked into a cell. There were human guards who constantly kept watch on him. He mulled over his current situation while sitting in a corner. He couldnt believe it. He lost. He lost everything even though it went so well at the beginning. He was supposed to be the chosen one to lead the elves to victory. 60 miles from the Forest of Origin Ara walked up to Vuduin. Glad to see that you are okay, Field Marshal. You can drop the honorifics now. Its over. Ara nodded. What was it all for? Vuduin looked up to the sky. One elfs hatred. Ara thought about it for a few minutes before replying. I guess that was all it was. They watched as the elves who had been led by Vuduin started dispersing. They had all been disarmed but were not taken prisoner. The elven officers, like Ara and, had to stay. The officers had all been transported to Vuduin to make sure everyone was present. Ara turned to Ehlark who was beside her. Colonel. Want to go for a drink after all this is over? We are prisoners of war. Im not sure if we will be able to see each other. The war is over. All we have left to do is answer these humans some questions and then go home. Ara stopped at that. Hey, Colonel, do you have a house? Yes, why are you asking? Ara chuckled. I got disowned by my parents and kicked out of their house for expressing my wish to have a career in the military and not marrying. I also never bought a house. You were a Major General and you never bought a house? Your pay would have been more than enough. Ara rubbed her neck. Never thought I needed it. I would have bought one after I retired. But my retirement kind of came early as you can see. I also dont think houses are that common now. Chapter 94 – The Homefront RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the nearly 3 week hiatus. I had a very busy week last week (a lot of tests and assignments). I guess I''m finally actually experiencing college. My second semester feels so much more stressful than my first. I still have no solid idea on what day I will update... as of right now, i''m gonna try updating once a week but I won''t have a set day to do so. Anyways, I''m not sure how long this arc will be... it could be very short or medium sized... hmmm... we are gonna focus on non-military stuff such as civilian life, politics, and economics. Also, I''m gonna try to upload a working map. Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 2 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0755 June 10th, 2020 CE Kansas Keith led his horse back to the stable. He found his father in the house making himself coffee in the kitchen. Dad. I heard you hired a lot more new employees and bought a few acres of new land. Are you sure we are able to cover the costs? His father took a sip from his mug. People cant import crops no more so us farms have to do more work. Im expecting a lot of demand this year. Keith poured himself a cup of coffee. There are rumors that companies are trying to find replacements though. Taking a gamble here. I dont expect any place on this world to have the capacity to fulfill what our country needs. They sat down drinking. Im a bit worried about you, Dad. Im already 32 years old. Let me help you manage the farm. Keiths father chuckled. I told you I wont let you have the farm until I kick the bucket. I may be getting old but I still have some energy in my bones. Alright Dad, I will go tend to the pigs. You will never stop asking, will ya? Nope. Until you agree. Keiths father chuckled again. In your dreams. 0815 June 10th, 2020 CE 0707 Sun 40th, 196 AE Port City of Filanneas, Elven Nation For your main demands, here''s what I can do. The demanded gold, silver, steel, wood, and bricks in 4 years, the military blueprints, and the manuals. Anfalen stopped. The 1 million tons of agricultural foodstuffs is difficult if not impossible. We have suffered population loss of nearly 50% and Im not sure what the state of my countrys farms are like at the moment. We are currently depending on American aid. I also can not guarantee the intact and working weapons. Our weapons inventory has been greatly depleted. From my knowledge, the small arms and thauguns should be possible. However, the ships and planes are not possible seeing that most of them have been destroyed." Jeph frowned. The 1 million tons of agricultural foodstuff is non-negotiable. We do not have enough to feed our population since you elves burned down almost all the cropland we had in the south. As I said, we are depending on American aid. We also do not have enough to feed our population. Im sorry. Im not able to help you with that. Well, you elves should have thought about that before starting a war. I may have a solution. Both turned to look at Henry. "My country may be able to cover some of the foodstuffs. We are already providing aid to you elves. We should also be able to provide food to the Magus Imperium. However, I currently can not give exact figures on how much. 1345 June 10th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. President Hayes was being informed of all the agreed terms so far. A pull out of all US forces once rogue elements have been dealt with. The aide stopped to let the President speak. I know this is something we set as a term but I really have a bad feeling about this part. I would like us to leave as fast as possible. Cralson shook his head. We cant just abandon them. They dont have a functioning military capable of countering the rogue units. I just dont want ourselves to get into another decade-long war. I want us to leave this powderkeg as soon as possible. Not every insurgency will turn into that and I fully believe in the militarys capabilities against an already defeated enemy that is 70 years technologically behind. The aide waited for them to stop so he could continue on about the terms. In the ocean A fishing ship 50 miles away from New York hauled in their net. Quite a good catch we have today. The newest member of the crew, Paul, checked out the fish in the net. Hey Curtis, the fish really look odd. These are Redfin Tuna. They have the looks of one but are not actually tuna. Tastes a bit different too. Isnt that name a bit misleading? People didnt want to make up new fish names and we dont know what the people of this world name their fish. Its good for business too. Is there supposed to be a hole in the Redfin Tuna? Huh. No. Untie the net lemme take a look. Paul pointed to the fish that had a gaping hole right through its side. Huh As Curtis studied the fish, Paul gave a shout. Hey, guys, theres quite a lot of fish like that in here. Dammit, there goes our profits. Guys, could this be the rumored Kraken? We are well outside the restricted areas and this hole seems small for something like a Kraken. Atlanta, Georgia In an office room, a few people sat around a long rectangular table. A person at the head of the table started talking. The impact of being transferred here has just started to mellow. Domestic sales have kept us afloat but we had to lay off a few hundred employees. We are hoping to start expanding operations into other countries soon. Has the government agreed to let us begin expansion? There are still restrictions on travel but we are sure we will be able to begin in three months. The people in the marketing department have a concern though. We have to test the taste of the people in this world. They are not sure if our current line-up of products will suit the tastes of the people here. Especially the different species. I heard the McDonalds in the Bem Kingdom have been getting good sales on Coca-Cola and Sprite. That is only one country out of many and they are populated by humans. We will definitely try to identify possible local flavors. We will offer up our current line-up before beginning to present local flavors. Somewhere in the Northern Frontier A group of people trekked through the forest. Are you sure there is gold up here? I dont feel comfortable in such foreign places. Just dont eat any of the plants or whatever. According to the EPA, theres no animals here so there shouldnt be anything to creep you out. Arent the EPA and CDC still operating here to make sure there isn''t any weird stuff? Are you sure we can be here? They are just making sure there are no harmful and invasive plants or insects or whatever. This land is full of natural resources and the government is selling it to companies. We common folk have to stake a claim too. Um. I thought we were just here to find gold. Why are we talking about land all of a sudden? You are thinking so small, brother. Just grabbing some gold and leaving? No. no. no. We claim the land where we found the gold. That land will be rich with it and we will be rich too. They soon happened upon an open field. Pretty sure this is corporate land. ExxonMobil, maybe? Multiple oil derricks dotted the field. Aint what we are searching for. Let the corporations go for black gold. We are going for real gold here. Come on, lets not get too close. We dont want to be spotted. 1345 June 10th, 2020 CE 1036 Sun 40th, 196 AE Industropolis, Mach Imperium Pomponia had a very unhappy face as she greeted the American diplomat. Im getting sick and tired of being here. You promised me I will be able to step down soon yet here I am. Still on the throne. The diplomat nodded. Apologies for that. We have run into issues on what to do for your country. Establishing a unified democratic state holds great potential to create unrest which we seek to avoid. How about you place another monarch here instead of me? One more willing to rule? We are seeking ways to break up the Imperium into a collection of independent democratic states along cultural and ethnic lines. Keeping a monarch is not looked upon well in my country. However, it is possible for a monarch to remain as a figurehead. I just want to quit and go back to my house. Just get me off of this throne. I swear if I have to spend another year with these noble assholes and their haughty parties. 1345 June 10th, 2020 CE 1036 Sun 41st, 196 AE Port City of Filanneas, Elven Nation I am hoping that by meeting your countrys demands, that your country will allow the return of elven prisoners of war. I have been informed that most of the prisoners are being held by your country. Jeph turned to the other Magusian diplomats. Henry interrupted. My government insists that you agree upon this. More elves returned means that the elves will have more capabilities to provide you with the demanded materials. Moreover, keeping these elves locked up is a waste of resources and food that could be used to feed your own population. Chapter 95 – Conspiracies RonTheBlackCat Well, I''m 100% back now. You should be able to expect weekly chapters. If you were on my discord server, you would have known what has happened so far. I have been agonizing over a computer science class. I recently decided to withdraw from that class because it wasn''t going well. (There goes my computer science major XD). Now that I don''t have to spend around 40 hours a week trying to figure out how to finish my coding projects and having panic attacks over my computer science exams, I have more time to write! Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 3 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0604 June 11th, 2020 CE 0602 Sun 41st, 196 AE A prison in the Magus Imperium Simon languished on the bed in his cell. If not for the small barred window, he would have lost count on how many days he had been stuck in his cell. If he was right, it had been eight days since he was allowed outside. At least they havent forgotten to feed him. However little it was. Suddenly, there was banging. The door to his cell opened. Get out here you elves. Wars over. As he walked out, Simon noted the crowded surroundings. Human soldiers were everywhere and armed to the teeth. The warden appeared in the middle of the hall. We will be escorting you out of here. You are all going home. Now, behave yourselves. Do not dare try to attack us. You all lost the war, you hear me? If you do, we will kill you and we will find any of your family and kill them too. Understood? The warden didnt wait for a reply and looked at the still closed cells down the hall. Now, you boys will be let out once they leave. Cant have all of you out at once. 1822 June 11th, 2020 CE On the streets in Arlington, Virginia Two men flanked Daniel in the streets. One of them looked at him. Are you Daniel McCormick? Yes what may I do for you two? He lowered his voice. We need you to come with us. We are with the FBI. He showed his badge. Daniel instantly froze as his mind went into panic mode. He took a deep breath and barely said a word. Okay. They led him to a nondescript black car. They entered the car and the agents started driving. The other man started talking. We have found out that you have discovered some information that was supposed to stay confidential. If you release that information, you will be considered committing treason. Daniel nodded. Do not report it under any circumstance. There will be consequences. Do not try to hand it over to the media. We will be monitoring you. Daniel nodded again. The car stopped. Now get out. Daniel looked around as he exited the car. He was in front of his house. Daniel fumbled with his keys and opened the door to his house. Then he stopped. Cold dread filled him. He remembered something that he was too panicked during the car ride to tell them. He had already sent the information to the FBI. He shut his door and started rationalizing to try to calm himself. It was to their organization so it should be fine. And he sent it before they even came to talk to him. Maybe it was even that tip that caused them to approach him. If not he was probably going to have a meeting with them quite soon but hopefully they would let him off the hook. A few minutes later The agent driving laughed. Well that guy was scared shitless. His legs seemed to have turned into Jell-O. I dont think we have anything to worry about. And here I was afraid this dude would be more resistant. An hour later Pentagon Good job you two. The two FBI agents sat down. And when are we getting paid? I have struck a nice deal with a certain corporation. Once the money comes in, I will pay you two handsomely. The agents nodded. Understood General. Quincy looked at both of them. Hm. Not threatening me? Its bad for business, you know. And this isnt Hollywood. Ha. Never thought there would be anything as handy as corrupt FBI agents. Corrupt is a loaded word, General. We prefer capitalistic. White House Mr. President, this is from the FBI and is classified Confidential. They recently received a tip that someone was tampering with the civilian casualty reports. Upon further investigation by the FBI, this seems to hold true. Civilian casualty reports? Were the numbers faked? Yes. The numbers are much smaller than reality. I want a corrected version as soon as possible. Classify that as Confidential. I want to see it before anybody else. President Hayes'' face grew pale as he skimmed through the papers in the file. These numbers this cant get out to the media or any public report. Understood? Tell the FBI to keep it under wraps. Find the guy who reported this. When did the data start being manipulated? From the earliest reports, it seems to be a couple days after the military begun landings on the Elven Nation Does the FBI have a suspect for who is tampering with the data? None so far but they are looking into logs connected with the tampered data Tell them to put more people on it. People who can keep their mouths shut. This will be a political shitshow if it gets out. I dont want to be the President who gets remembered for authorizing the killings of thousands of innocent Magusians. And get me Quincy. He needs to explain what the hell is with this collateral damage. Were we firing artillery and dropping bombs indiscriminatingly?! Wait. Dont get him. Actually, dont inform any member connected to the military. Someone from there could be the one who did this. 0128 June 12th, 2020 CE 0344 Sun 42nd, 196 AE Primopolis, Magus Imperium Renout waited near the entrance of the refugee processing center. A soldier guarding the gate walked to him. Look. Renout. You should go home. Theres no point sitting out here. The higher-ups are about done with you too. I dont have a home to go to. I just have to wait. I know they will be back. Renout I know you have a job and home now. I dont want to actually kick you out like Im supposed to. Settle down. Dont spend all your free time waiting here. Find some friends. Maybe a wife even. Renout didnt answer. Tell you what? I will ask around occasionally to see if any Hewets came through here. I will visit you the moment Im informed. Renout still refused to respond. Look Renout. You have been here every single day and it''s gotten to the point that I know you by name. Dont you see how ridiculous this is. If I dont kick you out, they are just going to send someone else who will use actual force. If you take my offer, you will still get informed. You get what you want and I dont need to either bully you or get fired from my job. ...fine. 0450 June 12th, 2020 CE 0525 Sun 42nd, 196 AE Port City of Filanneas Henry invited the Magusian diplomats for an US-Magusian only discussion. After the greetings, Henry gave the Magusians an announcement. My government has agreed to provide food aid. However we will not be sending as high as your original offer. My countrymen need that food. And if you cant supply that, the elves will. Your countrymen do not need that much. We are willing to supply up to 500,000 tons of food a year for the next two years. Anything in excess of that will be utterly ridiculous and does not reflect the needs of your population. We know what you are trying to do. Jeph hissed. The elves are supposed to be punished for their wrongdoings. We have all punished them enough. Their country is in ruins. They are being forced to give over resources and military information. To starve their population would only incite future conflict. 1403 June 12th, 2020 CE Kansas Keith! Have you heard? The government is sending even more food aid. I knew this would pay off! Keith glanced at his dad. Its only going to the large corporations, Dad. They wont ask such a small farm like ours. Dont you get it? Those corporations will be too busy trying to fulfill those government orders that the local markets are gonna turn to us small farms. This is the jackpot! Woohoo! Keiths father started doing a weird dance. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean Dive! Dive! Dive! The USS Cheyenne, an Los Angeles-class submarine, started going deeper into the ocean. Chapter 96 – The World Ain’t Black And White RonTheBlackCat Chapter updates have been moved to every Wednesday/Thursday Night (Central US Time). Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 3 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1024 June 13th, 2020 CE Pentagon Multiple men entered Quincys office. Quincy looked up in a jolt but quickly put a smile on his face. What can I do for you fine gentlemen? One of them spoke. General. We need you to come with us. May I know what for? One of them showed their FBI badges. We have a warrant for your arrest for suspicions of corruption and intentionally falsifying government documents. Quincy chuckled. And you have evidence for this? The agent nodded. We have someone who has confessed and linked it to you. You cant arrest me just because someone said I did it. The agents approached him. In addition to that, we have more than enough proof to convict you. Face the wall. In an interrogation room at FBI Headquarters, Washington D.C. Quincy looked up from his handcuffs as a person flanked by Secret Service agents entered the room. Ah, Mr. President, how nice to see you. I cant say so myself Quincy. Ronell sat down as the door closed. Quincy, you betrayed me. You betrayed the oath you swore. You betrayed this country. Quincy frowned a bit. I have been loyal to this country all my life. And I believe all my actions have been done on its behalf. I feel no guilt for my actions. Ronell shook his head. You are a lucky bastard. We will be handing you a lighter sentencing but the information about civilian casualties must never be revealed. Your career is ruined, Quincy. Quincy smiled. And what if I tell everybody about this? How are you going to stop me? You will be sentenced for charges of treason. And you think that will stop me? You can take what we are giving you right now. Serve a few years in prison, get out, and live your life. Or we can convict you of treason and make you serve life in prison. White House Tom Nolan, the FBI Director, sat across from Ronell. Mr. President, are you sure about this? If I do reveal this information sure he will get what he deserved but the collateral damage would not be negligible. We are talking about domestic outcry and if it spreads outside, straining of foreign relations. If I could kill that bastard I would but goddammit we lived in a civilized country. We can make him disappear, sir. Even though it has been rare, we have made people disappear before. God no. That''s a line that I will hopefully never cross. I hope so too. We usually only do it to those who endanger national security to an extreme degree. 1355 June 13th, 2020 CE A corporate office in the US <<>> The TV was shut down. A man sitting behind a desk shook his head. Truly disappointing. He got caught. Another man standing nearby spoke. Doesnt matter. It wont be traced back to us. I made sure of it. The sitting man waved. Im not worried about that. You have always been good with this. Such a shame though. We still have a couple of congressmen under our thumbs so we should get that approval nonetheless. Would have been nice to have more people in the Pentagon on our side too. Especially the fact Quincy has so many connections. Maybe we can try with a different one or whoever is replacing him? Lets lay low for a bit. The government will turn a blind eye if we dont act up for now. The standing man nodded. But we really need more people in. We have really taken a hit from not being able to sell to foregin countries anymore. Even our country has a limit to the amount of weapons it can buy. We dont want to bankrupt our only customer. What about foreign countries in this world? I have tried to convince them to let us sell our weapons to the people of this world but they were extremely against it. Its a tall order. People are going to find it suspicious that there are congressmen willing to sell high tech weaponry to basically barbarians. Somewhere in the Northern Frontier Soldiers, with rifles drawn, wearing baggy clothes and gas masks approached them. Hands in the air! You are all under arrest for trespassing on restricted land. The group raised their hands. Fuck you and your corporations. A few minutes later The soldiers loaded them onto Humvees. Where are you taking us? To a medical facility. You will be put under quarantine. This is for your health and safety. You will also be interrogated. HA! So concerned about our health and safety. Yet you let these corporate bastards roam around taking all the good stuff. All company employees have to wear protective suits while operating here. You are violating the law so you will be charged upon return to the States. White House In the Oval Office, the President spoke to Austrin Rhodes, the Director of the CDC. I am concerned about the returning soldiers. You are certain we do not need to take heavier measures to ensure that an unknown disease will spread here? I mean you recommended that I authorize the use of protective equipment in the Northern Frontier yet you show no concern about our soldiers being deployed on unknown land elsewhere. Mr. President. From what we have learned from the natives records of diseases, there should not be anything concerning. There are many diseases with similar symptoms as the diseases in our world. From what we have seen, the anatomy of the humans in this world are exactly the same as ours. If a soldier did catch anything, it would most likely be the common cold. We have yet to discover any overly concerning diseases which we do find strange. This world does not seem to have smallpox or any worse infectious disease. Its delightful but concerning at the same time. Then why are we so concerned about the Northern Frontier if the diseases are similar and theres nothing actually concerning? From what native records state, humans have not stepped foot on that place for nearly a thousand years. We have no idea what could be up there. It is supposedly devoid of animals but it is vital that we are certain. For all we know, there could be a small animal carrying around this worlds smallpox. 1424 June 13th, 2020 CE Hundreds of miles away from Hawaii, Pacific Ocean The USS Cheyenne continued on its exercises. A sonarman looked surprised as his sonar screen went off. Captain! We are detecting multiple signatures on the sonar. Fast moving. Seems to be torpedoes heading straight towards us. The captain of the USS Cheyenne, a testament to his experience and training, quickly started ordering commands. Engage countermeasures! Acoustic decoys were deployed from the submarine and jammers tried to confuse the incoming torpedoes. Dive! Dive! Dive! The submarine started diving further down. The blips on the sonar screen got closer and closer. The sonarman stared hoping that the blips would pass over them. The submarine jolted as the torpedoes slammed into it. 1500 June 13th, 2020 CE White House An aide ran up to Ronell in a hallway. Mr. President. Urgent report. We lost contact with the USS Cheyenne, a Los Angeles class submarine, a couple hundred miles away from Hawaii. It was doing exercises by itself. Ronell frowned. Are we certain it''s not any communication error or some equipment malfunction? We have lost contact with them for the past 30 minutes. We are currently dispatching ships for search and rescue. Could it possibly be those sea creatures that have been plaguing us? We are not certain at this time, sir, but if it is, it will be well outside their usual zones, sir. Inform the members of the National Security Council of the situation. I want to stay updated on this. Inform me the moment we get anything new. How many sailors were on that submarine? It has a crew of 129. What ships are on search and rescue? Various ones from the US Navy and US Coast Guard. I am not able to give you the specifics of much. Get me Quinc get me the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Nelson Byrd? No. I meant the one thats now Chairman. Stephen Decker. Chapter 97 – The Incident RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 3 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1509 June 13th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. While walking towards the Oval Office, Ronell ran into the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Stephen. I know you havent had much time to settle down on this unexpected promotion but the current situation is worrisome. Whats happening, I need details. All we know is that the USS Cheyenne has not responded to attempts to communicate with it after it missed its scheduled status report . The only three scenarios where this is possible is either the communication equipment broke, they have sunk, or a mutiny occurred. I dont believe a mutiny is likely so we are between the first two probabilities and going under the assumption that they have sunk. They entered the Oval Office where the Cralson was already there. Mr.President. Cralson, I have been informed whats happening. We dont know much do we? As much as anybody other than the submarine crew themselves knows. We know the general area of where the submarine sank. According to the Chief of Naval Operations, they were conducting regular exercises there. Are we certain that the submarine has sunk? Cralson shook his head. We have to expect the worst. Ronells face looked grim. Stephen, if they are sunk, what are the crews chances of survival? If they have, it''s slim. If they met an accident while on the surface, then it''s likely we can save them. But they were most likely submerged. Depending on how far they have sunk, we may not be able to rescue them. In addition, based on the amount of damage the submarine took, oxygen production could have been knocked offline and they could be running out of oxygen. I can not say much more until our ships arrive. What ships are we sending? Cralson answered. The USNS Impeccable is enroute, they are an ocean surveillance ship capable of searching for undersea objects in a wide range. We also have multiple Arleigh Burkes that have been stationed in Hawaii too. P-8 Poseidons, maritime patrol aircraft that can deploy sonar buoys, will be the first ones there. The Undersea Rescue Command has also already been deployed. They are trained specifically for rescuing crews of disabled submarines. They are currently enroute with the HOS Dominator thats carrying a Submarine Rescue Diving Recompression System which can rescue the crews. Thirty minutes later They had quickly moved into the Situation Room. Ronell stood with his hands on his hips as he watched the screens that displayed the data coming from the sonars. They have detected what we believe is to be the USS Cheyenne. It has only slightly deviated from its planned route but its sinking. Good news is that it is still within range for rescue. Bad news is that it''s sinking fast. They are only about a thousand feet down but the SRDRS only has a range of two thousand. We will have to get to them fast. 1625 June 13th, 2020 CE Submarine Location in the Pacific A Submarine Rescue Diving Recompression System (SRDRS) was lowered into the ocean from the HOS Dominator. Two members of the Undersea Rescue Command went along in it. Washington D.C Ronell watched the camera feed from the SRDRS as it was lowered to the submarine. There were holes on the side of the USS Cheyenne. It doesnt look good. Stephen nodded. There still could be survivors. Its equipped with watertight doors that can seal off flooded areas. From what I have seen, those holes seem to be a match. It is definitely done by that damn sea creature. Cralson, I want a restriction on all submarine activities in the Pacific. Call them back to their homeports. A few minutes later There was a video feed from the commanding naval officer of the rescue operation on screen. We have confirmed survivors from the URC. The SRDRS is being attached to the submarine hatch to get them out. Excellent work Admiral. The people in the Situation Room watched as the SRDRS started positioning itself on the hatch that was at the back on the long end of the submarine where the engine room was situated. Haggard sailors started coming into the SRDRS. Once full with 16 people, it started its ascent. Clapping started. On the screen, the SRDRS started its descent again in order to rescue more crew. The officer on live video looked grim after receiving a report. Mr.President. We are expecting casualties. Its likely more than 90 deaths. It seems only the sailors in the engine room survived. A heavy silence fell on the room. An hour later Dr. Munoz, the biologist hired to help identify the mysterious sea creature, was in the Situation Room. The screen had been set to a bunch of slides. A photo showed up on screen. It was similar to a swordfish but its nose was much larger and connected from the skull to the jaw. From studying the damage done by it, we have made what we believe is a possible model of the sea creature that is currently attacking us. I do not guarantee this is correct but it''s our best scientific guess. For all we know, it could be the tentacles of a giant sea monster. But if we are correct, we are currently identifying it as the Lancefish because of its semblance to a swordfish except with a lance instead of a sword as its nose. Ronell posed a question. And how is it drilling holes through the sides of ships and submarines? We are not exactly sure but we believe that its nose is as strong as tungsten. They vary in size. The largest capable of drilling a hoie about a yard in diameter. The smallest is capable of drilling around a few inches. The biologist switched to a slide that showed the sizes of the Lancefish. Stephen asked next. And how do we kill it? I would need a captured specimen in order to find a way to kill it. On that note, I believe that their presence is growing and it''s concerning. The waters around us may soon become inaccessible. Dr.Munoz changed the slides to a gif that showed swathes of red growing in the oceans surrounding the Formidon continent. Cralson nodded. We did have reports of fishing ships catching fishes with holes in them in the Atlantic. Ronell sighed. They have spread over there too? Cralson shrugged We arent sure since it''s only one occurrence and it''s just fish. Dr.Munoz continued. That is why we suggested that they vary in size. From photos, the fish seem to have been pierced in a similar fashion as the ships. Ronell shook his head. Any idea on how we can find a specimen that can tear through metal like paper? Its not like we can catch it with a net. You probably will have to kill it in order for me to study it. So you need us to kill it for you to find a way to kill it? 1705 June 13th, 2020 CE 1132 Sun 43rd, 196 AE Primopolis, Magus Imperium An American diplomat bowed before Emperor Arstant. Thank you for granting me this audience at such a late hour. No need for this. We are glad you have helped us against the elves and are supplying us with food. What do our American friends need? We are wondering if you have any knowledge of any sea creatures capable of drilling through metal? I do not believe so. Why do you ask? Our ships have come under attack by sea creatures capable of such and we are hoping you would have any information. Arstant sat there thinking. Let me call in one of my scholars knowledgeable on this. A few minutes later A person in scholar robes stood beside the Emperor. Other than the records of the large birds on the Formidon Continent, there should be no other hostile creatures in that region. Most records of creature attacks come from the birds. I have never heard of any stories of attacking sea creatures capable of drilling through metal. 1822 June 13th, 2020 CE Golden, Colorado In the National Earthquake Information Center, the seismograph started printing out jagged lines going up and down. The geologists in the room started looking at that specific seismograph. This is weird. This is from the seismic stations in Hawaii. Whats weird about that? Isnt it usual for Hawaii to experience earthquakes? Oh yeah, you are new. Its the first earthquake in Hawaii we have had ever since Earth was transferred here. The plates had stopped being so active there. Hm. Seems to be quite minor though. Chapter 98 – State of the World RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the delay! I had to study for my final exams and write my final papers. Good news, summer break is starting in about a week. Once I rest for a couple of days after the start of summer break, I will look through and answer recent comments. I wish final exams didn''t exit... enjoy the chapter! Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 3 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1029 June 14th, 2020 CE Riverside National Cemetery, California This is one of the single most devastating events that our country has faced since coming to this new world. We are here to honor the 93 brave sailors of the USS Cheyenne who have died in service of this great nation. We shall... After a few more minutes to finish his speech, Ronell was escorted to the side. Rifles were fired in three volleys as a lone trumpet played. Families of the sailors stood crying before their loved ones graves. 5 miles from Los Angeles A Marine Protector-class patrol boat, the USCGC Pike, tried to keep up with the speeding yacht. <<>> The yacht completely ignored the commands of the Coast Guard ship and continued sailing. The .50 cal machine gun on the Coast Guard ship opened up in a small burst. There were multiple splashes of water in front of the yacht. The yacht veered to the right and quickly came to a stop. Shouts came from the yacht. Dont shoot! What the fuck are you doing? Go! You are not getting paid if you dont! I dont want to fucking die! This isnt worth it anymore. Eight coast guardsmen with rifles boarded the ship. Down on the ground! Hands up! The small group of people onboard quickly raised their hands. The Coast Guardsmen handcuffed the crew and a middle-aged couple on the yacht. The husband, who seemed to be the owner of the yacht, was visibly upset. What is this? Nazi Germany? You have no right to stop me from traveling where I want! The sailors started leading the arrested towards the USCGC Pike. Sir, there has been a restriction ordered by the President that does not allow ships on the Pacific Ocean beyond 5 miles of shore. If you wanted to go out to sea, you could have followed the shoreline until you got to the Southern Ocean where there is no restriction. Do you know who I am? You cant do this to me! If you arent the President of the United States, I dont care who you are. No one is allowed to sail into the Pacific ocean unless with prior approval. You and the others on this ship will be detained and the ship will be seized. Well you can go fuck yourself. And you have the right to stay silent 1745 June 14th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. The FBI director sat down across from the President. The court date for Quincy has been set. Oh. It''s about this matter. I nearly forgot about Quincy. As long as he is charged within the bounds of the law, I dont give a damn anymore. What if he breaks the agreement? As I ordered before. I want people to keep an eye on him and make sure that he doesnt talk and that if he does talk, make sure that it doesnt spread. What do you want me to do to him if he does talk? Ronell became quiet. After a few seconds, he sighed. Just make it look like an accident, alright? Have no records of it. Of course, Mr. President. We have done this before. Im trusting you on this. Magi Research and Development Center, Magus Imperium Multiple elves in green cloaks looked over the engine of a Knight magipanzer. The elves seem to have decided on using a hybrid approach. Combining both mechanical and magical. Isnt it similar to our hybrid engines? Yes but they have applied magic to all of their technology. Even their ammunition is special. Well, in our view the elves technological aim is still hybrid like ours. Ours is pure and true magic. Im concerned about the American mechanical technology. The Emperor seems to be really fond of those toys that they gave him. One of the researchers who had a white beard shook his head. He has been invested in magical research since the moment he became Emperor. He wont let all that investment go to waste. Not including the superiority of the American mechanical technology. Wont these Elven technologies that we know have encouraged him to still use a hybrid approach? He is very interested in these magic batteries that the elves have. We just need to present something even better. Our research should be coming into fruition soon. Although I can not guarantee it to be better than what the American mechanical technology has to offer, I can say it will be better or comparable to elven technology. 0222 June 15th, 2020 CE 0411 Sun 45th, 196 AE Primopolis, Magus Imperium Emperor Arstant looked up at the sky. Soldiers in uniform were marching down the street in the view of his palace. Civilians lined the sidewalks cheering and waving. Wyverns flew overhead at the military parade. A squadron of P-51 Mustangs flew in V-formation. While they now had the capability to build P-51s, their air force was mainly still reliant on wyverns. The magi researchers were studying the idea of enhancement magic in order to improve the wyverns and hopefully make them comparable to these P-51s. On the ground, a platoon of four M4 Shermans drove down the road side by side followed by columns of A1s. The difference was stunning. The A1 was just a long rectangular box with a 75mm gun in front. It had riveted armor and looked unwieldy. Artillery and anti-aircraft pieces pulled by trucks followed the tanks. More soldiers followed. Emperor Arstant smiled as he watched them go by. 0430 June 15th, 2020 CE 0515 Sun 45th, 196 AE Hasta Air Base, Magus Imperium Welcome, Emperor Arstant. We are happy to let you view the first shipments of food aid that are being given to your country. An American colonel guided Arstant through the airbase. A gigantic gray aircraft sat on the field next to the paved runway. Arstant looked at it in wonder. The size of it was unlike anything he has ever seen. And that''s an aircraft? Yes, a C-5M Super Galaxy. It is a transport aircraft capable of carrying vehicles, men and equipment. We are sending food aid to your country using aircraft such as this. Its currently carrying about 100 tons of food. Arstant got himself out of staring at it. That doesnt sound like the agreed amount. More shipments will come soon. Mostly via ship but the first few will be by aircraft such as these to provide faster aid. A random airfield, Magus Imperium Simon waited at an airfield where he was scheduled to be transported back home. At least forty other elves were besides him. American soldiers stood nearby keeping a watch on them. They were very laid back. Somewhere in the Elven Nation Groups of Chinooks carrying soldiers departed from an airfield. An infantryman looked out from the window besides his seat in the Chinook. This is much faster than expected isnt it? We are already going home! There are still some poor sods that still need to keep stuff under control. We were just fighting the remnants of a defeated army. They will do fine without the rest of us there. ??? The prophecy shall be fulfilled! It will be to the will of the Great One. The gate will be opened soon! Our darkness will spread to the other worlds! Guttural noises could be heard among what seemed like a crowd of jet black flesh. Some of them had sticks with skulls on them. Chapter 99 – Welcome to California RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 3 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 0655 June 15th, 2020 CE 0627 Sun 45th, 196 AE Elven Nation Mr. President, the Americans have begun their general withdrawal. There are still contingents of American soldiers present for security reasons. Afalen smiled a bit. What is the current state of our military? About 10,000 strong, sir. Armed mostly with small arms. We have a few magipanzers. Barely a company. We have no Air Force or Navy to speak of. I think that''s good enough. Im shrinking the military budget and redirecting the funds to rebuilding efforts. Give me the agriculture ministers update on the food situation. We just need half of the amount of pre-war farmland to feed our population so we should have more than enough. Good. Im glad they started running again. Whats next on my agenda for today? Sir, you still have a meeting in the afternoon with the American diplomat to discuss how the Americans wish for how the Elven government should be restructured. Duly noted, Athtar. Afalen started looking through a bunch of reports and briefs. Anfalen didnt know how long it was but a knock soon came on the door which he answered. Saelihn popped her head in. Anfalen, lunch is about ready. Athtar, join us too. We are having Petren fish cooked with saltnut sauce. Walking the hallways of his office/home, Anfalen looked at Saelihn and sighed. We have a long road ahead of us dont we, Saelihn. Yes, we do, Anfalen, yes we do. Washington D.C. <<>> Ronell turned off the TV and drank a sip of water. This has got to be the strangest thing a President has ever experienced. Fucking elves. Magus Imperium This is not true pure magic. On his throne, Arstant looked upset at his magi researchers. Then what is true pure magic? Their ammunition doesn''t even consist of metal. But it requires a vehicle to fire from. Arstant shook his head. He looked up at the ceiling of his castle while thinking about what kind of crazy idiots he had hired. We dont even use magic as ammunition. We use metal for ammunition. I dont understand what you are trying to do. We are aiming to not even need the vehicle to fire from. Pure and true magic. Have we not told your majesty? This is the true pursuit of our institution. To do away with using anything mechanical and to embrace magic as humans true future. Our empire accepts both magic and the mechanical and has accepted them both since our founding. I see no reason to embrace only magic. Of course. Of course. We will not persecute those who embrace machines but this will be a magic revolution, your majesty. Do you have anything to show for it then? Of course! A few hours later A testing ground somewhere in the Magus Imperium The Emperor, multiple magi researchers, and members of the military crowded together on a field and looked towards the sky. A single wyvern flew about. The wyvern suddenly sped up to incredible speeds. The Emperor widened his eyes in amazement. Then the wyvern then suddenly slowed down to regular speed. One of the magi researchers nodded. And that is an example of enhancement magic we are developing. How fast was that? That should have been about 650 mph. Much faster than an elven jet aircraft. Why did it slow down so fast? Well, this is why we havent shown it to you yet. It''s not perfect. We will still need to find a way to extend it beyond a few mere seconds. We are making progress. Arstant frowned. But arent the Americans much faster and their high speeds can be maintained? Your majesty, I understand that they have amazing mechanical technology but our Empire has had its roots in magic. Our Empire was founded on the basis of protecting users of magic. To switch focus onto just mechanical technology in pursuit of the Americans would be a mistake because we will never see or find out the potential of magical technology. 0720 June 15th, 2020 CE Fremont, California Luke Fuller! His mom bellowed from the floor below. Wake up or you are going to be late for school! Luke jolted awake and sat in his bed blinking. He looked at his clock. 8:05. Im coming! GImme a sec! Rushing downstairs after brushing his teeth and slinging his backpack on his back, his mom greeted him. His golden hair was still wet from the water he splashed on his face. Your dad is already off to work. It''s 7:25. You are going to miss the bus. He slid into his seat at the table after setting his backpack down. He choked down a scrambled egg. Not if I eat fast enough. Luke got on to his bus right on time. Hayden, how you doing? Hayden just nodded in response and looked out the window. Luke rolled his eyes and sat right next to Hayden. He put in his earbuds and started to doze off. A sea of people was in front of him as Luke walked in through the doors that lined the front entrance. Sundale High School. He was going to finally graduate in 9 days and get out of this place. He was supposed to graduate earlier but due to the chaos following The Transferal, the start of the school year was pushed back by two weeks which in turn pushed the end date back by the same amount. As Luke looked through his locker, a voice caught his attention. Luke. Luke greeted the tall figure approaching him. Jackson! Whats up. Jackson fist bumped Luke. Doing good. You ready for the party two weeks from now. Of course. You aint chickening out like last party right? Luke snorted. Of course not. Its the graduation party. Who do you think I am? Jackson laughed. The guy who ditched me last party? Look. I wasnt feeling that comfortable. Jackson placed an arm around Lukes shoulder. Jacksons brown hair went down to Lukes shoulder. You have to get out of your shell, you know. You are some weird mystery in between an extrovert and introvert. I will show you the way of the extrovert. Trust me, Im an expert. You may even find a girl or something. Luke laughed nervously at that. Luke stared at Mr. Johnsons mouth as Mr. Johnson talked about whatever subject he was currently in. He couldnt quite remember. He really didnt see the point of class anymore since he already got accepted into Santa Clara University. Then his whole body started shaking. He got out of his stupor just as the teacher shouted. Get your head down below the desk! Stay under your desk until the shaking stops! Keep a hold of one of the legs of your table! Luke dove under his desk and got his hands on one of the legs. As the shaking turned even more violent, he closed his eyes as loud crashes indicated objects falling onto the ground. His hand wrapped around his desks leg even firmer. The crashing noise stopped but the shaking wasnt done. A couple minutes passed by until the shaking stopped. The room became eerily quiet. Everyone, stay under your desks. Luke opened his eyes. The floor was a complete mess. He could see the rest of his classmates under their desks. All seemed to be okay. A few minutes later, his teacher spoke again. It seems safe enough. You can come out but dont touch anything that fell, especially the lights. Mr. Johnson was still looking around at the damage while Luke and his classmates got ahold of themselves. Earthquakes werent uncommon In California but it had been a long time since one occurred. One of his classmates raised their hands. When can we leave? We are going to wait until directions come from the speaker. Feet could be heard out in the hallway. One of his classmates looked back at Mr.Johnson from the door. Hey, the other classes are leaving. It''s been a few minutes, the speaker is probably broken. Mr. Johnson looked out of the door. Alright, we are evacuating to the assembly area outside. Everyone, stay together. Luke got into his moms car. After everyone assembled in a field and the teachers made sure that everyone was accounted for, school was dismissed for the rest of the day. Hey mom, is the house fine? Only some things that fell off. Your father is coming back from work. Sweet, I also have no school for the rest of the day. Fort Irwin, California Two soldiers looked around as the shaking subsided. Huh. That lasted a couple minutes. I think it''s a high magnitude earthquake. That didnt do much damage though. Man, is it just me or are these earthquakes getting more and more frequent. California probably had all of that pent up and is releasing it right now. Like how someone holds in their farts and then lets them all out later. Ew. You really have to be that disgusting? What? Its an accurate description. You coulda settled for anything else but you just had to settle with a fart analogy. If I dont make you queasy everyday, then I havent done my duty. Goddammit, man A knock came on the door. Tate, Bishop, you two alright? Bishop answered. Yes, staff sergeant. We are fine, well if not for Tates analogies. 0759 June 18th, 2020 CE San Francisco, California Officer Andrew Molano rested in his police vehicle. He was still exhausted from helping during the cleanup efforts after the earthquake. It has now been three days since the earthquake and the streets looked quite normal. Somewhat scrambled noises start coming out of his radio. Andrew put the radio to his mouth. <<>> Chapter 100 – Battle of San Francisco Part 1 (Blood on the Sands) RonTheBlackCat Hey guys! I have decided to experiment with this arc. This should be much more character focused than before... hopefully. Enjoy! Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 3 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Also... WOOHOO my 100th chapter... lol never thought I would ever actually write 100 chapters of something XD. 0814 June 18th, 2020 CE (Time at San Francisco) San Francisco Andrew put his police car, a Ford Taurus, at the parking lot of the beach. It was a familiar place since he had been to this beach many times with his kids. The view of the Golden Gate Bridge just to the right was impressive as always. Being a Monday morning, the parking lot only had a few cars and the beach was mostly deserted. A man with white hair came running up to him. Officer! Were you the one who reported the sightings of strange animals? Yes. It wasnt like anything I have ever seen. About the size of an elephant. And where is it right now? It went back into the ocean just a few minutes after it came out. The man pointed over to a direction towards the left. Andrew got out his notepad and a pen. Alright. Can I get your name and what you were doing here? Tony Coralles. My wife and I were just walking along the beach. I recently retired and it''s not crowded at this time so I decided we could use a nice walk. Andrew nodded while scribbling on his notepad. Thank you, Mr. Coralles. Im Officer Andrew Molanos with the San Francisco Police Department. Do you have any photos or videos of the animal? Any other witnesses? No. I didnt bring anything that could have recorded it. Other than my wife and I, I dont think anybody else saw it. I might be able to get it on one of the cameras in the area but can you describe what it looked like? Um. Hm it was jet black, had a long sharp nose like a uh like a swordfish, stumpy four legs. Thank you. I would also like to see the exact location of where the animal came ashore. Thank you for the information, Mr. Coralles. I recommend you stay clear of the beach for the time being. Andrew walked back to his patrol vehicle and sat down in the drivers seat. The sand where Mr. Coralles led him was imprinted with countless large round holes. If it was an animal, it would have been about the size of an elephant. He picked up his car radio. <<>> Screaming cut him off. He looked outside of the window. Shit. He rushed out of his car and drew his pistol. Mr. Coralles was hanging in the jaws of an elephant-sized, jet black, four legged creature that had a long, pointed nose similar to a jousting lance and a long tail. The monstrositys front legs were bent in a fashion so that its mouth could get to Mr. Coralles without having its nose jutting into the ground. The creature crunched Mr. Coralless torso. A few people ran past Andrew. He shouted to the horrified viewers. Get off the beach! Andrew emptied the magazine of his Sig Sauer P226 at the creature. The .40 S&W bullets bounced off the scales of the creature. Andrews eyes grew wide as numerous similar creatures of varying size started coming ashore. Even more jet-black backs of the creatures started emerging from the waters and swimming towards the beach. The creature he just shot at looked up from its meal at him. Blood covered its mouth and dripped onto the sand, coloring it red. Shit. The creature started lumbering towards him. Running into the parking lot, he found it empty. He got back into his car, slammed the door shut, put the car in drive and slammed on the gas. The tire screeched on the gravel. <<<11-99! I repeat 11-99! This is Officer Molanos. Multiple large and dangerous creatures have come ashore at Bakers Beach. One of the creatures has eaten a man and is currently pursuing me. My pistol had no effect on it. I need help immediately! Understood. More units are on their way. Im notifying SWAT.>>> He got onto the main road. A few cars drove by and there were people walking on the streets. He switched on the lights of his sirens and the loudspeakers. <<>> Down the road to the left, trees fell as one of the creatures emerged next to the road. A car swerved to the left to avoid it. <<>> The blaring sirens indicated that other units were nearby and closing in. 1134 June 18th, 2020 CE (Time at Washington D.C) Washington D.C. In the hallways of the White House, an aide ran up to Ronell. Mr. President! Urgent report. San Francisco is under attack. What? By whom? Unknown jet black creatures came ashore at Bakers Beach. Local law enforcement are currently responding. Ronell stood there, rubbed his face and grimaced. Fucking hell. Fremont, California Luke played with his pencil as Mr. Johnson droned on about history. The PA system came on. <<>> The class went quiet at that. Mr. Johnson frowned. Alright. Seeing that this isnt occurring in the school, we are going to continue with the lesson. Mr. Johnson went and locked the door before returning to the front of the room. 0905 June 18th, 2020 CE Fort Irwin, California Tate went up to the Staff Sergeant. Staff Sergeant, why are we being deployed? Some strange monsters are attacking San Francisco. Now, you two, get to your Humvee. We will get more information on the trip there. We have no time to waste. A few Humvees, M1A2 Abrams, and M2A3 Bradleys were already gathering on the concrete field. 1022 June 18th, 2020 CE San Francisco Andrew had retreated further inland with other police units. They had evacuated most of the civilians behind them. The creatures werent that fast but it took time to evacuate civilians and form a line of defense to hold the creatures back. Along the way, he got handed a police AR-15. He stopped his patrol vehicle in front of a SWAT van and got out. The intersection of Kirkham Street and 19th Avenue in front of him was full of patrol vehicles. A line of patrol vehicles blocked the intersection. Dozens of police officers and SWAT officers were present. A SWAT officer approached him. Andrew greeted him. Officer Molanos. I was told to report here. We just arrived here too. Seems like we are gonna try to stop them here. Stop them here? We killed a few of them while helping with the evacuation. Im sure your AR-15 will do fine. Pump a bunch of 5.56 in them and they will die. Their head is the best place to shoot. Avoid the nose though, bullets literally ping off of that Andrew frowned. San Francisco isnt that good of a place to defend. I heard they were coming ashore from the ocean all around the city. We are forming a line of defense along State Route 1 up to the Golden Gate Park for the west side. A line on Page Street for the north side. And starting from Page Street going down, a line near US 101 for the east side. They are still units outside of this defensive perimeter trying to evacuate civilians though. Behind the SWAT officer, a police sergeant shouted at two other police officers. You two, check those houses for civilians. If there are, tell them to leave immediately! We got incoming! A single creature came barreling down the street. Andrew opened up with his AR-15. SWAT officers flanking him also opened fire. The creature took multiple hits to the head before going down. Cheers erupted but soon died down as screeches were heard. We got more! Washington D.C. The multiple screens in the Situation Room showed muted news channels. The channels were showing footage from news helicopters in San Francisco. Groups of the jet-black creatures were shown coming ashore in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mr. President, they are coming ashore everywhere along the San Francisco Bay. We have reports of them on the airstrips at the Oakland International Airport. We arent sure of the numbers but it seems to be in the hundreds. Local law enforcement is being overwhelmed. Ronell furrowed his eyebrows. Stephen, what military units are responding? The Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff responded. The California National Guard has been alerted and their Quick Response Forces should be responding within hours from now. The Air Force should also arrive close to that time. The One Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton should arrive within 5 hours. The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment is currently preparing to travel to San Francisco. They will need more than 10 hours to mobilize and reach San Francisco. We are limited in our response capabilities since a majority of our forces are in transition to return after the Elven War. Ronell sat back on his chair. Now, do we have any idea what these are I guess you are here for a reason. Dr. Munoz nodded as Ronell looked at him. Mr. President. I am certain that this is the Lancefish I was talking about. The nose definitely fits the bill. Of course, I guess the fish part of the name is not true now and it''s most likely to be a reptile. Hm. Lancereptile doesnt have that nice of a ring to it. Lancefish is better. Stephen interrupted Dr. Munozs mumbling about the creatures name. From the reports from local law enforcement. It seems to take multiple bullets from a 5.56mm rifle to kill it. A .50 sniper round kills them quite easily though. A few minutes later An aide entered the room. Mr. President. We have various sightings of ships approaching San Francisco. Ships? Civilian or military? Um we arent sure if we can even call them ships. Chapter 101 – Chapter 101 – Battle of San Francisco Part 2 (The Initial Wave) RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 3 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 I''m gonna try to go back to the usual chapter update every Sunday. 1036 June 18th, 2020 CE San Francisco Gun fire opened up from the police line on another creature that lumbered towards them. Andrew felt his AR-15 jerk back onto his shoulder every time he pulled the trigger. The creature quickly went down. There were corpses of these creatures spread across the street in front of them. Some were huge while others were much smaller. The rotor blades of a helicopter could be heard above him. Andrew looked up as a police helicopter positioned itself with its side facing down the street. A single shot came from the open side door of the helicopter and streaked down the street towards an unseen target. The police sniper on the helicopter stayed silent for a few minutes before they opened fire again. A shout near him caught his attention. Andrew! It was a coworker he was close to at his station. Oh, Terry. You are here too. Terry nodded. Just got here. Where you get that AR? I dont remember you being issued one. Terry was carrying an AR-15 that was issued to him. Someone had a spare and gave it to me while I was evacuating people. Thats good. I dont think we have to do much now though. They got a .50 cal sniper on that helicopter. It definitely put a stop to those monsters. The shots from the .50 cal started becoming constant and faster. Every few seconds, the sniper opened fire. They seemingly only stopped at intervals to reload. Somebody further behind him shouted, We have a wave of them! Brace yourselves! A few minutes later Holy shit. Open fire! A mass of black was just lumbering towards. There were so many creatures that they seemingly blended in together. Andrew put his empty magazine down on the ground and reached for another one of the magazines that he kept on his waist only to grasp at nothing. Anybody got a spare mag? Terry tossed him two and continued shooting. Andrew slammed the magazine in and gave Terry a quick thanks. The mass of creatures slowly but surely inched towards the police line. A SWAT officer besides him shouted, I dont think we can hold this! Andrew didnt know who but somebody responded. Keep shooting! Dont let them through! Fucking hell. Start backing up! Washington D.C. One of the TVs in the Situation Room was set to a local news station in San Francisco. <<>> Stephen had a concerned look on his face. Mr. President, thats nearly 5 million people under evacuation orders. Are there any reports of Lancefish sightings in Hawaii or Guam? Cralson shook his head. None whatsoever so. People there are being restricted from accessing the beaches. The Hawaii National Guard and the military units on Guam are on high alert. Ronell sighed. We can only hope for the best at this point. When will the Air Force arrive in San Francisco? Within minutes, sir. Have we found out what those mysterious ships were? Any more information on that? We have sent a drone to investigate. It will take some time to arrive. Well, do we have any information we can gather now? They are described to be the same jet black as the creatures ashore but closely resembles a ship. That''s mostly what we know from witnesses far away An aide walked into the room. Mr. President, the Governor of California is on the phone. Give me that. 1055 June 18th, 2020 CE Fremont, California Even though class was supposed to end 20 minutes ago, Mr. Johnson continued with his lesson.The PA system went on again. <<>> Luke looked around. There was a moment of silence before voices arose. Whats happening? Oh my god. Some people got out their smartphones. Mr. Johnson had a surprised look on his face but it quickly wore off. Ok everyone. The student''s voices drowned out Mr.Johnson. Holy cow! Were under attack by strange monsters. Look at this. A few of the students crowded around the smartphone of the student who said that. Mr.Johnson bellowed, Everyone! A silence fell on the students as they looked at Mr.Johnson. I dont know what is happening but we will be following these instructions. We will be leaving the classroom in an orderly fashion. Please stay together and do not stray from your classmates. Luke exited the school building following his classmates. He just had to keep an eye on Mr. Johnsons bald head. A line of yellow school buses lined the school driveway. There were also three police cars. Two near the exit of the driveway and one behind the line of school buses. His class came to a stop at the pavement near the buses. One of the front office ladies was talking with Mr. Johnson. Shouting caught Lukes attention. On the grass a few yards away, a police officer and a school faculty member were arguing with a woman. Why cant I just grab my child and go? The school faculty member shook his head. Sorry, mam, we arent giving anybody preferential treatment. You can follow the buses to their location. But its my child. Mable Darrison. Cant you just go find her really quickly? The policeman took over the conversation. It will take time to do so and we dont have time. We arent sure how long we can hold them off. That is why we arent letting parents pick up their kids. We cant have traffic snarling up the evacuation. Those things will get here before even half the students would be able to get picked up. There will also be people trapped in a traffic jam. It will be a massacre. Please return to your vehicle. You may follow the buses towards the evacuation site. All students will be returned to their parents there. The argument continued but Luke couldnt listen for much longer. Mr. Johnson turned to the class. Quickly. Onto the bus everybody. Luke sat down by himself. He didnt really talk much to the classmates he had in Mr.Johnsons class. Another class started boarding the bus. A person sat down to Luke and he brightened up as he saw who it was. Hayden. Your class is on this bus too? Hayden nodded. Luke did a small laugh. Huh. What are the chances? A third class started filing in. Luke looked around. Isnt this bus getting a bit crowded? Mr. Johnson shouted, Everyone, please sit close together we need at least 3 people per seat. 1113 June 18th, 2020 CE California State Route 58, 70 miles from Los Angeles Bishop was at the wheel staring at the back of a Bradley as they traveled at 35 mph. Tate looked out from the window of the Humvee at the vast expanse of nothingness. A long convoy of Bradleys, Abrams, and Humvees were on the highway. Tate sighed How long till we get there? Should be 8 more hours. Chapter 101 – Battle of San Francisco Part 2 (The Initial Wave) RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 3 chapters ahead for $2 a month -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 I''m gonna try to go back to the usual chapter update every Sunday. 1036 June 18th, 2020 CE San Francisco Gun fire opened up from the police line on another creature that lumbered towards them. Andrew felt his AR-15 jerk back onto his shoulder every time he pulled the trigger. The creature quickly went down. There were corpses of these creatures spread across the street in front of them. Some were huge while others were much smaller. The rotor blades of a helicopter could be heard above him. Andrew looked up as a police helicopter positioned itself with its side facing down the street. A single shot came from the open side door of the helicopter and streaked down the street towards an unseen target. The police sniper on the helicopter stayed silent for a few minutes before they opened fire again. A shout near him caught his attention. Andrew! It was a coworker he was close to at his station. Oh, Terry. You are here too. Terry nodded. Just got here. Where you get that AR? I dont remember you being issued one. Terry was carrying an AR-15 that was issued to him. Someone had a spare and gave it to me while I was evacuating people. Thats good. I dont think we have to do much now though. They got a .50 cal sniper on that helicopter. It definitely put a stop to those monsters. The shots from the .50 cal started becoming constant and faster. Every few seconds, the sniper opened fire. They seemingly only stopped at intervals to reload. Somebody further behind him shouted, We have a wave of them! Brace yourselves! A few minutes later Holy shit. Open fire! A mass of black was just lumbering towards. There were so many creatures that they seemingly blended in together. Andrew put his empty magazine down on the ground and reached for another one of the magazines that he kept on his waist only to grasp at nothing. Anybody got a spare mag? Terry tossed him two and continued shooting. Andrew slammed the magazine in and gave Terry a quick thanks. The mass of creatures slowly but surely inched towards the police line. A SWAT officer besides him shouted, I dont think we can hold this! Andrew didnt know who but somebody responded. Keep shooting! Dont let them through! Fucking hell. Start backing up! Washington D.C. One of the TVs in the Situation Room was set to a local news station in San Francisco. <<>> Stephen had a concerned look on his face. Mr. President, thats nearly 5 million people under evacuation orders. Are there any reports of Lancefish sightings in Hawaii or Guam? Cralson shook his head. None whatsoever so. People there are being restricted from accessing the beaches. The Hawaii National Guard and the military units on Guam are on high alert. Ronell sighed. We can only hope for the best at this point. When will the Air Force arrive in San Francisco? Within minutes, sir. Have we found out what those mysterious ships were? Any more information on that? We have sent a drone to investigate. It will take some time to arrive. Well, do we have any information we can gather now? They are described to be the same jet black as the creatures ashore but closely resembles a ship. That''s mostly what we know from witnesses far away An aide walked into the room. Mr. President, the Governor of California is on the phone. Give me that. 1055 June 18th, 2020 CE Fremont, California Even though class was supposed to end 20 minutes ago, Mr. Johnson continued with his lesson.The PA system went on again. <<>> Luke looked around. There was a moment of silence before voices arose. Whats happening? Oh my god. Some people got out their smartphones. Mr. Johnson had a surprised look on his face but it quickly wore off. Ok everyone. The student''s voices drowned out Mr.Johnson. Holy cow! Were under attack by strange monsters. Look at this. A few of the students crowded around the smartphone of the student who said that. Mr.Johnson bellowed, Everyone! A silence fell on the students as they looked at Mr.Johnson. I dont know what is happening but we will be following these instructions. We will be leaving the classroom in an orderly fashion. Please stay together and do not stray from your classmates. Luke exited the school building following his classmates. He just had to keep an eye on Mr. Johnsons bald head. A line of yellow school buses lined the school driveway. There were also three police cars. Two near the exit of the driveway and one behind the line of school buses. His class came to a stop at the pavement near the buses. One of the front office ladies was talking with Mr. Johnson. Shouting caught Lukes attention. On the grass a few yards away, a police officer and a school faculty member were arguing with a woman. Why cant I just grab my child and go? The school faculty member shook his head. Sorry, mam, we arent giving anybody preferential treatment. You can follow the buses to their location. But its my child. Mable Darrison. Cant you just go find her really quickly? The policeman took over the conversation. It will take time to do so and we dont have time. We arent sure how long we can hold them off. That is why we arent letting parents pick up their kids. We cant have traffic snarling up the evacuation. Those things will get here before even half the students would be able to get picked up. There will also be people trapped in a traffic jam. It will be a massacre. Please return to your vehicle. You may follow the buses towards the evacuation site. All students will be returned to their parents there. The argument continued but Luke couldnt listen for much longer. Mr. Johnson turned to the class. Quickly. Onto the bus everybody. Luke sat down by himself. He didnt really talk much to the classmates he had in Mr.Johnsons class. Another class started boarding the bus. A person sat down to Luke and he brightened up as he saw who it was. Hayden. Your class is on this bus too? Hayden nodded. Luke did a small laugh. Huh. What are the chances? A third class started filing in. Luke looked around. Isnt this bus getting a bit crowded? Mr. Johnson shouted, Everyone, please sit close together we need at least 3 people per seat. 1113 June 18th, 2020 CE California State Route 58, 70 miles from Los Angeles Bishop was at the wheel staring at the back of a Bradley as they traveled at 35 mph. Tate looked out from the window of the Humvee at the vast expanse of nothingness. A long convoy of Bradleys, Abrams, and Humvees were on the highway. Tate sighed How long till we get there? Should be 8 more hours. Chapter 102 – Battle of San Francisco Part 3 (Airspace Denied) RonTheBlackCat HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! HAPPY 246TH BIRTHDAY AMERICA! Double release! Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 4 chapters ahead on Patreon for $2 https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1122 June 18th, 2020 CE San Francisco Two of the patrol vehicles that had made up the blockade were pushed aside. The third one was overturned. The monsters had pushed back the firing line but the withering fire that the officers put up kept them at bay. While Andrew loaded another magazine into his AR, the radio on his shoulder crackled. <<>> He had forgotten to switch the frequency to the one that he had been told when he arrived at this intersection. He was glad he forgot though. Shit. Terry didnt hear Andrews cursing but he did notice that Andrew had stopped shooting. Terry stopped firing and raised his voice over the sound of the gunfire around them. Whats the matter? Need more ammo? No. Terry shook his head. What? Speak louder! No! Someone reported over the command frequency that the monsters broke through at a point on Page Street. My children go to school near there. Jesse told me that schools have been ordered to be evacuated to the evacuation points. Im sure they are alright. Andrew patted on his phone in his pocket. Im gonna go make a call. Jesse is on her way to pick up our children at the evacuation point. She can also pick up yours if you want her to. Will she be staying there or evacuating? Most of Richmond District is overrun now so I dont think going back home is a good idea anymore. Most likely staying and waiting for us. If the situation gets worse, she will evacuate with the kids. I will call my kids and tell them that Jesse is picking them up at the evacuation point then. I think you should do it later when we dont have fucking monsters a couple yards away from us. Andrew shook his head. Family comes first. I gotta make sure my kiddos are fine. I think you guys can handle it if one guy leaves for a bit. Then call Jesse for me and tell her about your kids. Also tell her I''m doing fine, alright. Got it. Thanks, Terry With that Terry continued shooting. As Andrew began walking away from the firing line, he looked up as he heard and then saw jets fly over them. Soon after, multiple explosions were heard. <<>> The two F-15Es banked to their sides so they could circle back. <<>> Flares and chaff popped out of the F-15s as they climbed upwards. Multiple projectiles sped past them straight into the sky. <<>> Less than an hour later Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada The F-15 that was missing half its left wing started its descent onto the runway. Eagle Two stayed in the air above making loops. The pilot sweated as she focused on keeping the aircraft in control. The landing gear came out and the F-15 started touching the ground. The pilot and her weapon systems officer clambered out of the aircraft and took a look at it as the ground crew started running up to her. Half of the F-15s left wing was sheared clean off. Washington D.C. Mr. President. One of our F-15s that was conducting an airstrike over San Francisco was nearly shot down from an unidentified source. It has landed safely at its airbase. However, it brings up the fact that what we are facing could possibly have surface to air missiles. Ronell frowned. Surface to air missiles? Are we facing a technologically comparable enemy? We arent certain. From current information, a high speed projectile collided with an F-15 when it began its return trip from bombing the Lancefish, tore off its wing but did not explode. Do we have a visual of their ships yet? We have an RQ-4 Global Hawk from Beales Air Base approaching the area soon, sir. Fremont, California Chattering filled the bus as Luke classmates looked through videos of the monsters invading the Bay Area. A few others around him were making phone calls like him. Luke felt relieved as his moms voice came on through the other side. <<>> Luke couldnt finish as he felt as if he was flying. In a snap, pain pierced through him. <<>> Hearing his moms voice, Luke opened his eyes and blinked. A group of blurry colors filled his vision. He heard gunshots and shouting as he got out of his pain filled daze. Realizing that he was lying on his side with something cold touching his face, he sat up to look around. The bus was flipped on its side. He was sitting on the windows which were thankfully laminated glass so it didnt shatter into glass shards. He could hear groans from a few others on the bus. Looking around, a few were sitting up like him but some were still lying down. Hayden was lying beside him with his eyes closed. Luke started shaking Hayden. Hayden. You alright? Hayden responded with coughing. <<>> Luke looked around for where the voice came from and found his phone. His smartphone survived thanks to the heavy duty case and screen protector he had put on it. The screen was cracked and his mom was getting hysterical though. Luke picked up his phone. <<>> Luke looked towards Hayden who had opened his eyes but was staring off into space. Hayden. You good? We need to get off the bus. 1234 June 18th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. We have just gotten a visual of the ships that were approaching San Francisco. They seem to have landed and are concentrated on Ocean Beach. It will be on screen momentarily. The large screen that covered a side of the Situation Room soon displayed a beach with rolling waves. On the beach were multiple figures that all those in the room were staring at. Ronells frown deepened. What the hell are those? Chapter 103 – Battle of San Francisco Part 4 (Reinforcements) RonTheBlackCat HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! HAPPY 246TH BIRTHDAY AMERICA! Double release! Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 4 chapters ahead on Patreon for $2 https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1235 June 18th, 2020 CE Washington Blvd, Irvington, California The emergency exit door at the back of the bus was opened. A policewoman peeked in Everybody! Get off the bus! The monsters are attacking! Without thinking, Luke grabbed Hayden and slung Haydens arm over his shoulder. Lukes mind was still taking in what had happened. Around him, people stood up to get off the bus and some, like him, carried and helped others. Since the door was sideways, everyone had to climb to get out. Luke gave Hayden to a person outside and Hayden was pulled out of the bus. When Luke himself got out, he was met with utter carnage. Police officers were trying to get the rest of the students off the bus. Whilst another waved and shouted at them to go somewhere. Go! Go! Go! Come on! Off the street and into that building! A couple people pushed past him to get to wherever the officer was telling them to go to. The background noises were deafening. Around the street, multiple police officers had assault rifles in their hands firing towards something. There was a metallic smell in the air that Luke had never smelled before. None of the other buses that their bus was following were there, most likely having already fled. A person patted him on the back. Luke turned to see Mr.Johnson looking at him with concern. Luke barely made out what he said. Luke, we have to go. Come on. Mr. Johnson had rarely addressed him before so it came as a shock that he remembered his name. Luke replied with only a nod and started walking towards where everybody else was going. Behind him, Mr. Johnson''s voice vibrated in the air amidst the gunshots. Stay together! A blast of cool air hit him as Luke entered the Wells Fargo bank. Students crowded the place. The amount wasnt surprising as three classes had been jammed onto that one bus. Two police officers and the teachers of the two other classes were also there. They had their attention on the students lying on the ground. Close by, a police officer was shouting into their radio. We have people bleeding here. I need medical here. Luke quickly looked away when he saw that the girl that the policeman was tending to had an arm covered in blood. A shout came from the door behind him. Is everybody here alright? This position is collapsing. We have to move. The police officer tending to the wounded girl shouted back. We have people who are injured. They need medical assistance. Luke looked at the door that he had entered from. The voice that had told them that they had to move came from another policeman. No time. Just carry them. Im not sure how much longer we can stay here. We are going on foot. Mr. Johnson, who Luke had not noticed coming into the bank, walked up to the officer shouting from the door. Luke heard Mr. Johnson raised voice but he didnt make out what he said. Luke noticed that Mr. Johnson looked unhappily at the police officer. Luke could hear the policemans reply. Sorry, I cant do that. I promise you that we are gonna find some way to transport you guys there. But we have to get away from this area first and the best way is by foot. One of the teachers shouted. We need some people to help carry the injured. Amidst the commotion of people carrying the wounded. Luke soon found Hayden sitting down, leaned against the wall. Hey, Hayden. Hayden had his eyes open and seemed to be less dazed. Hey, Luke. You alright? Thanks for saving me. Luke nodded. Come on let''s go, we have to leave. Hayden nodded. Washington D.C. On the screen, the beach was populated by large humanoid creatures with leathery jet black skin. Some of them had horns on them while others did not. They were all holding chunks of rock that somewhat resembled a spear. A few were grabbing crates and moving them onto the beach from their ships. Their ships looked very unnerving. It resembled a cargo ship without a bridge. It was the same skin texture as the humanoids and multiple eyes dotted the ship at random locations. While most of their ships had eyes moving around and looking in all directions, the eyes of one of the ships seemed to be focused on the drone. A giant red toad with a giant box-shaped growth on its back jumped into the camera view of the beach. It turned towards the drone. In the Situation Room, a voice pierced the quietness and shock. I think they noticed the drone. A blast of objects came out of the box on the back of the toad. The screen suddenly became black. Ronell immediately spoke up. What happened? What was that? It seems that the drone was shot down by that giant toad thing. Stephen spoke up. Their munitions are not guided at all. It''s more akin to a canister shot. Ronell turned his attention to him. Canister shot? When you fire a canister shot out of a cannon, the shell turns into multiple pieces in order to damage a large group of something. That''s what''s happening here. They dont have the accuracy so they just blanket the sky with shrapnel or objects. Ronell shook his head. What are we even facing and where did these things come from? I have to say they look like things from the depth of damned hell Those anti-air weapons do seem alive. Maybe we cant get that scientist back in here to give us an explanation. Dr. Munoz tapped his chin. This could possibly be an artificial modification of the creature. On the other hand, it could be naturally occurring. If the species ate flying animals and those animals flew at heights similar to fighter jets, it is possible... albeit you would only expect something like this from a fantasy world created by an insane maniac. But I cant tell you where it came from. This new world has quite a different biological makeup than our world and we havent cataloged all of it . Cralson interrupted Dr.Munozs musings. Mr. President. We are setting up a task team to scour through satellite images in order to locate their origins. We are hoping for results soon. San Francisco Andrew walked back towards the firing line, having just finished his phone calls. A shout caught his attention. One of our jets are going down! He looked to the sky. A fighter jet was spinning out of control in the sky. Both of its wings were missing. 20 minutes later They are breaking through! Andrew kept firing his AR but it seemed as if every monster he downed, another came to replace it. The entire firing line had started backing up once again. A voice came through his radio. <<>> Retreat! Andrew turned his patrol vehicle around and followed the other police vehicles. After driving down the road for a few minutes, they saw two Humvees rushing towards them from the opposite direction. The .50 cal from an California National Guard Humvees started laying down lead on the monsters behind the fleeing police vehicles A few minutes later Andrew and the others had gotten to 7th Avenue safely thanks to their retreat being covered by the two Humvees. A couple soldiers rushed around setting up sandbags at the intersection. Andrew noticed a police lieutenant was talking with a soldier, We are with the California National Guard and will be providing assistance to these creatures known as Lancefishes. That''s the dumbest name I have ever heard." Not my choice. A couple scientists have decided to name them that and the government ran with it. There are only 10 of us here but these monsters seem to be slow mindless meatbags so it shouldn''t be that hard to deal with. Our mission is to help you hold this perimeter until the Marines, Army, and additional National Guard units get here to push them back." "We could definitely use the additional firepower." The police lieutenants looked at the Humvees. "I think we can hold them back with these. You say these are .50 cal machine guns?" "Yep." ".50 cal snipers seem to kill these monsters in an instant so that''s good." Andrew rested his hands on his AR. Two Humvees with .50 cals sat in the middle of the intersection, their machine guns aimed down the road. Camp Pendleton, California V-22 Ospreys lifted off from the airfield. Following them were AH-1Z Vipers. Chapter 104 – Battle of San Francisco Part 5 (Not So Pleasant Surprise) RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 4 chapters ahead on Patreon for $2 https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1310 June 18th, 2020 CE San Francisco, California The riveting noise of the .50 cal machine guns firing reverberated through the air. The Lancefishes were collapsing by the dozens into pools of their own purple blood. The sound of the .50 cal was deafening. Since he didnt have ear protection and the adrenaline from earlier was wearing off, the noise from the .50 cal was actually awful. Andrew was certain he was going to be suffering from tinnitus for the rest of his life. Other than the SWAT, none of his other coworkers wore ear protection so they were all pretty much guaranteed this fate as well. However, they had to keep firing in order to keep the monsters at bay. Even two .50 cal machine guns were not enough at holding back a tidal wave of monsters. Washington Blvd, Irvington, California Luke pulled Hayden to his feet. You sure you can walk on your own? Yeah, just a little woozy. Im fine. Amidst the commotion of everybody helping each other up and moving towards the door, one of the police officers voices was being drowned out. EVERYONE SHUT UP! The building became dead silent. The policeman continued in a raised voice. Listen. If you want to survive, you have to listen. We will be going from building to building until we get out of this area. The other officers are trying to hold the line until we get out. The only exit is through the front door. When you get out, go right immediately and get into the parking lot. Avoid the intersection. I dont believe any of you will be dumb enough to run into the middle of a battle but I repeat DO NOT go left into the intersection. We will be ducking behind this building for cover so go fast. When you get into the parking lot, start moving towards the neighborhood behind this bank. Lets go, no time to waste. 1615 June 18th, 2020 CE (Washington D.C TIme) Outside the White House Ronell looked at the crowd of reporters gathered in front of him. Good afternoon. This morning, as many of you already know, the city of San Francisco came under attack by creatures that we have never seen before. Our understanding of these creatures are limited. We are not certain of their origin. We are not certain if they are intelligent or that we are capable of communicating with them. And we are not certain as to why they are attacking San Francisco. However, we are working tirelessly to understand the nature and origins of such creatures. What we do know is that these creatures do not come in peace. They have attacked the city of San Francisco and its people unprovoked. The battle is still ongoing. Just a few minutes ago, I was in the Situation Room being updated on the situation. Our first priority is to ensure the safety of the people of San Francisco. Local law enforcement have held off the advance and civilians are being evacuated from the Bay Area. I have federalized the National Guards of California, Nevada, Oregon, and Arizona and I have directed them to repel the creatures invading San Francisco. The California National Guard have already begun arriving to assist. In addition, I have directed the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment from Fort Irwin, California along with 2,200 Marines of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Pendleton, California to provide further support. The current situation is still developing and we will provide further updates once more is known. Thank you. And may God bless the United States of America. Situation Room Stephen gave his update to the President. The Air Force has reassessed the situation and are switching their munitions to long range cruise missiles in order to take out the enemy anti-air and to bombard their landings on the beach. Direct bombing runs are no longer considered viable due to losses. The navy is also unable to be deployed in the Pacific due to the fact that there are still Lancefishes in the water. Do we have any updates on the origins of these creatures? None whatsoever. But rest assured, Mr. President, we will find something. The entire National Spatial-Intelligence Agency is working on it. Well then. The only thing we can do at this point, gentlemen, is to hope for the best. Should we inform other nations of the current situation? Inquired the Secretary of State, Katerina. I was planning to do so but Im looking for your approval. Ronell shook his head. Keep it under wraps for now. We dont want them knowing something they can take advantage of. We can inform them later. If they start being attacked, then we will tell them. Ronell sighed and swiveled his head to look through all the screens in the Situation Room. Multiple news channels were in a frenzy over this. Some of the screens showed footage of the monsters in the streets of San Francisco. News anchors talking with almost any person they could get a hold of that was somehow related or could give an opinion on this. . 1325 June 18th, 2020 CE Irvington, California Luke looked around at the houses that lined both sides of the street they were on. Their large group made their way down the street. They could still hear gunshots since they had only traveled about three blocks away from the bank. Luke realized that his phone had been vibrating in his pocket for a while now. Looking at it, there were 20 missed calls from his mom. His mom came through the moment it connected. Luke?! Why havent you picked up? Luke paused for a second at his moms hysterical shouting. Mom. Calm down. Im fine. Where are you right now? Are you alright? What happened? Why didnt you pick up? Calm down. Im alive and safe. Perfectly fine not a scratch. Dont freak but our bus was had engine problems. We had to travel onto the streets and I didnt hear my phone. Were you able to get on another bus? Usually, his mom would pick up on that pause. But she was probably either too panicked to notice that he was lying or that she was just taking it since she understood she probably didnt want to hear the truth. And hey, he wasnt technically lying, the engine of the bus is having problems. More so caused by the bus being flipped than the bus engine itself though. But hey, potayto, potahto, tomayto, tomahto. No, mom, we are currently on foot. We have police officers escorting us and I think we are trying to find a vehicle or something to get us to the evacuation point. San Francisco, California A Guardsman tapped Andrews shoulder. We will take it over from here. Report to your commanding officer back there. An amalgamation of police forces all gathered in front of their supposed commanding officer. Im Lieutenant Alan Beckingridge, in charge of all local law enforcement forces in this intersection. Gonna keep this short. There are people handing out MRES over there. Get some food and rest. You guys have 20 minutes. Then we gotta cycle you guys out so half of the soldiers can eat. Any questions? A city police officer raised his voice. Why cant we focus on just evacuations now that the National Guard is here? There arent enough soldiers. What we have is just a Quick Response Force from the California National Guard spread out at some of the intersections. More soldiers are coming to reinforce us but they need some more time. So take your break, and get ready to come back. Be glad, you are even having a break. 20 minutes later Andrew was getting up from his break when loud shouting from the firing line caught his attention. A Humvee was suddenly flung. It gained some air before skidding on the ground a few yards away from Andrew. A giant metallic spear-like log was punctured through what was left of the Humvee. The second Humvee started reversing, its .50 cal firing wildly. Fall back! Fall back! Ognu daria sugaaa! What the hell are those!? The soldiers on the firing line quickly started backing up in an organized manner. Irvington, California Luke looked around at the houses that lined the sides of the deserted street. One of the police officers pushed past him and went to converse with Mr. Johnson. A few seconds later. The police officer shouted. Alright, everybody stop. We have to hide in these houses. We may have monsters approaching soon. Then murmurs grew as people looked down the road. A sand colored Humvee appeared there. Luke could see that a soldier manned the machine gun on it. Behind the first Humvee, three more Humvees showed up followed by sand colored trucks. Everybody got onto the sidewalk in order to clear the road. A Humvee without a machine gun on top separated from the convoy and parked on the side of the road near them. The rest of the convoy continued. A soldier dressed in full sand colored combat gear and carrying a rifle walked out. What are you guys doing out here? It''s not safe here. A police officer went up to him. Im Officer Hills Cooper with the Fremont Police Department. We were escorting a convoy of school buses from Sundale High School to the evacuation point at Levis Stadium. However, one of the school buses was overturned by one of those monsters. These are the kids from that school bus and we are trying to find another vehicle to get us to the evac point. Sergeant David Lumen of the California Army National Guard. The sergeant looked around at everybody. Hm. Lemme check with my commanding officer to see if they can offer any help. Chapter 105 – San Francisco is Lost Part 1 (Fleeing) RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 4 chapters ahead on Patreon for $2 https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1345 June 18th, 2020 CE Irvington, California Around Luke, a few sat down on the sidewalk to rest. Luke looked around. It was a nice little neighborhood with a variety of white one-story and two-story houses lining both sides. Luke looked to Hayden who was also sitting down. Im gonna go listen to what they are saying. David came back from his Humvee. Sorry. My unit cant spare any vehicles right now. Hills sighed. Well, thanks for asking. David pointed behind him. You guys are nearing the Paseo Padre Parkway. Theres still a lot of people driving through there. You can probably flag down someone to get a ride. I did see a couple buses which could probably fit all of you guys. Maybe if you are lucky, another bus will pass by. The sound of machine gun fire interrupted their conversation. David looked down the road towards where the gunfire came from. Someone in the Humvee shouted. Sergeant! They made contact. Theres a horde of them. David looked to Hills. I need to go. I have orders to stop those monsters here. You guys should be relatively safe for now but I do suggest that you guys keep moving. The soldier got back into the Humvee and it drove off. Hills looked at the students around him. Most had sat down to rest. Okay. Everyone! We will be stopping for a few minutes in order to make a decision. Please take this time to rest whilst we talk with your teachers. I need all teachers and all officers over here. A few, who hadnt lost their stuff, started eating from their lunch boxes and drinking from their bottled water. Luke sat down besides Hayden and hugged his legs to his cheat. Luke took a deep breath. You okay, Hayden? Yeah Im fine. You think we gonna live? ...probably. They sat together without speaking. Luke rummaged through his pockets for his earbuds. To his surprise, nothing came up.He probably dropped his earbuds in the chaos. Chattering filled up the air and Luke fidgeted a bit while sitting silently besides Hayden. He didnt know anybody else around and making new friends would be awkward in this situation. A few minutes passed by for Luke to say anything again. Hayden would usually ignore him. Today, however. Hayden seemed finally able to talk. Although being given the chance, Luke started feeling like he would chicken out. Hayden um I have been meaning to talk to you about this I know this is probably not the place and Im a bit late on this but we have been good friends since middle school. You kinda stopped talking to me starting Luke was interrupted. Okay. Everyone. Attention! We are asking everyone to call their parents to come pick them up at the Paseo Padre Parkway. Tell them to pick you up at the Paseo Padre Parkway. For those who cant be picked up, we will find a bus or something to get you guys to the evac point. A few minutes later Luke got off of his phone with his mom again. Hayden, will your parents be picking you up? They told me that they are already at the stadium waiting for me. They are gonna try to drive to me though. Oddly, even though they had already walked a street away from where they met the soldiers, the sound of gunfire seemed to be getting louder and louder. Somewhere in their group of 60 or so students, somebody shouted. Hey the soldiers are coming back! Unlike the first time they had seen them, the military vehicles werent in a neat convoy line. Instead disorganized Humvees and trucks were speeding towards them. The vehicles came to a halt near them. The soldier from earlier that had talked to them jumped out of one of the Humvees. He started waving to everybody. The monsters are coming! Get onto the trucks! Come on. Officer Hills ran up to him. What? Whats happening? Get these kids onto the trucks. We cant hold off the monsters. Squeeze in as much as you can. People started getting onto the backs of the trucks. Luke spotted something in the sky. A humvee flew right over them. It clipped a house down the road and smashed upside down onto the lawn of a house further down. Radio transmissions ten minutes earlier <<>> Washington D.C. Inside the Situation Room, Stephen presented worrying news to Ronell. Mr. President, the National Guard is being pushed back. We are receiving reports that humanoid monsters, description matching the ones we saw on our drone, appear to be throwing projectiles at high speeds towards humvees and destroying them. Ronell rubbed his forehead. How long until the Marines are there? Within an hour. How much of San Francisco have these monsters taken? Mr. President Stephen paused. San Francisco may be lost. So you are telling me that an American city will be occupied by foreign forces and that we can do nothing about it? ...yes sir even with the responding marines, we do not have sufficient force to prevent San Francisco from being well more infested with monsters than occupied. Ronell sighed. The first wave were monsters. Those Lancefish things. Whatever that second wave was with the giant humanoids and anti-air toads seemed like a coordinated military to me. 1411 June 18th, 2020 CE San Francisco California A patrol vehicle barreled down a street lined with stores but devoid of people. Andrews radio squawked as he made a right turn in his patrol vehicle that nearly tilted his vehicle. He felt his entire body slide to the left. Terry had his eyes wide open at that. Woah, drive a bit slower. You are gonna kill us. Do you not see the situation we are in? We gotta get out of here. I know but these monsters arent that fast. Another message came through the radio that silenced all other radio chatter. <<>> I guess that''s where we are going then. A ringtone started playing in the car. Andrew felt his right pocket vibrate. That must be my kids. Terry, can you fish that out of my right pocket? Answer it and put it on speaker too please. Terry placed the phone in the cupholder. <<>> Andrew made another tight turn. <<>> Chapter 106 – San Francisco is Lost Part 2 (The Last Line) RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 4 chapters ahead on Patreon for $2 https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Sorry about being late! Was busy recently. 1420 June 18th, 2020 CE San Francisco, California Their patrol vehicle barreled down the deserted street. Andrew held tightly onto the steering wheel. He looked around. Where is Interstate 280? There are signs on the street that will get us there. Can you get a map out on your phone or something? If you stopped driving like a maniac, we can just check the street signs. Well, the entire city is being overrun, who wont drive like a maniac. You are gonna get us killed. Im driving at only 60 mph and theres literally nobody here. We are way behind everybody and have no idea when those things are gonna get here. Just please check where we are. Terry tapped on his phone. Ah. Okay, take the next right. As Andrew rounded the turn, the entire car tilted to the left, its right wheels spinning in the air. Jostled as the car slammed back onto the ground, Terry held onto the door Jesus H. Christ! A few minutes later In front of them were multiple police vehicles and a Humvee that formed a checkpoint of sorts. See we didnt need the signs. Next time, if we ever have to do another escape or something, Im driving. Andrew and Terry got out of the vehicle. A police officer from the checkpoint approached them. You guys alright? Andrew and Terry introduced themselves. We are fine. Im Officer Andrew Molanos from Richmond Station. Officer Terry Grays, also from Richmond Station. Corporal Anthony White from Mission Station. Did you say Richmond Station? Yeah, why are you asking? Ouch. Wasnt that where the first reports of those monsters came from? Andrew nodded. Oh yeah, Im pretty sure I was the one who made that first report. You were? Huh. Glad to see you are still alive. Well, surprised to see actually. We need all the officers we can get. Terry looked around at the couple other officers and Guardsmen. Can you tell us what has been going on? Nobody seems to be communicating over the radio anymore. They walked towards the checkpoint. I think we switched frequencies or something but that isnt important right now. Its not going well. The National Guard is in complete retreat. They are trying to reorganize and regroup. We have abandoned most of the city north of here. Anthony pointed southwards. The Ingleside Police Station is now the headquarters. The City College of San Francisco next to it has also become the main evacuation site. The various stadiums there and the parking lot are being used as landing areas for National Guard helicopters to ferry out civilians. People can also drive out of San Francisco using Interstate 280 but we are trying to control the flow of traffic so it keeps moving. And what are we doing here? Our orders are to hold this highway and that evacuation point. We will most likely be the last ones to leave unless the National Guard gets their shit together. I will call someone from HQ and see if they need you guys elsewhere. You will probably be staying here with me though. Irvington, California Everyone stared bewilderedly at the destroyed and upside down Humvee. Sergeant Lumen waved at the students to snap them out of it. Quickly! GO! GET ON. People started rushing into the trucks. Gunfire could be heard in the distance. Luke soon clambered onto one of the military trucks. The sand colored tarp covering the back of the truck had concealed how crowded it was inside. The truck was packed with students. Other than that, there was a soldier tending to a wounded soldier lying in the middle of everybody. Luke sat down on the truck bed. He heard gunfire again. This time it sounded extremely close. Screams also came from outside. Luke looked out the back of the truck. A Humvee was driving towards them with a monster following it. 1433 June 18th, 2020 CE San Jose International Airport (Forward Operating Base) Colonel Bill Gunn looked increasingly worried as radio messages flooded in. <<>> <<>> <<>> The only thing he could do now was order a general retreat. The monsters had heavy firepower with them and easily dealt with the lightly armed National Guard. The heaviest weapon he had currently in his disposal are Humvees armed with .50 cal machine guns. He was gonna have to wait for more heavy weaponry in order to turn the tide. A beacon of hope came to him in the form of someone rushing to him with a message.Colonel!. The commander of the Marines that are arriving soon wants to speak to you. <<>> 30 minutes later MV-22 Ospreys landed all along one of the runways of the San Jose International Airport. Marines ran out from the backs of the Ospreys towards the hangars. Corporal Eric Lu was among the Marines. As he got off of his osprey, Eric looked up just as three AH-1Z Vipers in formation flew by overhead. Besides him, Humvees were driving around on the runway of the airport. Carrying his service rifle, the M27 IAR, he ran with his fellow Marines. Let''s go. Let''s go. Move. Move. Move. A large number of soldiers crowded the hangar that they just entered. The aircraft hangar had been turned into a command center of sorts. Whiteboards and computers on desks were everywhere. In a rather large open area in the hangar, Marines clad in combat crowded together and filled the space. Captain Dan Martinez, commander of their company, was standing in front of a large whiteboard with a map on it. Alright, Echo Company, this is the current situation. To enable easier travel, most of northern San Jose has been cleared of civilians. Across the Bay Area, the National Guard is on retreat. They are the worst hit in San Francisco. The situation there is also the most dire because San Francisco is on a peninsula and can be cut off. The captain traced his finger on a highway on the map. Local law enforcement and National Guard have been pushed back to Interstate 280 and are desperately holding it as the main highway for evacuations. He then pointed at an area on Interstate 280. This is the City College of San Francisco, where they are evacuating civilians via helicopter. This is where this company and Fox Company will be headed to. However, each platoon from Fox Company has been assigned to protect various points along Interstate 280 so they will not accompany you the entire way to San Francisco. Elements from the battalion weapons company will be attached to this company. They will have Javelins, TOWs, and mortars with them. Those will be vital against these demons. We do not know much about these demons but we do know that they are hardy enough to take multiple rifle shots and can seemingly fling Humvees. This will be a retreating battle. Our goal is to protect the civilians and hold out until more forces arrive. The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment is a few hours away and will bring heavier firepower. The rest of the 1st Marine Division will be pouring in too. Understood? Lets go kill some demons, Marines, oorah! Oorah! 1733 June 18th, 2020 CE (Washington DC Time) 0046 Sun 48th, 196 AE Off the coast of the Mach Imperium A Machian battleship cruised lazily in the waters. It was an old battleship but it was one of the few battleships that the Mach Imperium had left after its war with America. Suddenly, a commotion occurred on the bridge. Captain! We are suffering from a hull breach and are flooding. Something punctured through the side of our ship! Seal the areas where the flooding is occurring. Is this an enemy attack? We are not certain, Captain. Whatever it was, it seemingly went through one side of our ships and out the other. However it''s not exploding. A few minutes later Theres reports of even more flooding. It seems something has punctured our ship again. Captain, we might not be able to control this flooding. Set course for homeport. Contact headquarters. We have to save this ship at all costs! Chapter 107 – San Francisco is Lost Part 3 (Evacuations) RonTheBlackCat Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 4 chapters ahead on Patreon for $2 https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 Also important thing, its nearly time for me to be going back to college soon so I might have to pause for one week (Probably two weeks from now) so I can readjust to my college life. I have been rereading my book and I have been really enjoying my own work XD. Its kinda funny how it feels as if I didn''t write it cause its been like 2 years so I have forgotten some parts. There''s a lot of stuff that could be better and missed opportunity tho. But hey, that''s what the future revamped/official version is for. 1800 June 18th, 2020 CE Washington D.C. Katrina alerted the President. Our Ambassador to the Mach Imperium has just told me that the Mach government is currently in uproar. They are trying to keep it under wraps but there are rumors floating around that a Mach battleship being sunk was the cause for this. A battleship? Didnt we sink almost their entire navy? According to the Ambassador, it was an old battleship bound for the scrap yards that they recommissioned. Ronell sighed. Seriously? They are rebuilding their military? They still seem to be wary of the Magus Imperium. What were our plans for the Mach again? I remember we have that Queen in power but I heard she really doesnt want to stay and will be abdicating the moment we give her the chance to. The committee in charge is hoping to split them into multiple republics. They have so far identified 85 or so different possible republics based upon ethnicity, religious background, and other factors. We will most likely have to spend billions of dollars to prop up these countries and ensure stability. According to them, a single republic wasnt going to work because the ethnic and religious differences run deep and may interfere in the processes of an unified democracy. Cralson coughed. Mr. President. Secretary of State. Now is not really a good time to be discussing nation building. We are being invaded. Ronell nodded. Sorry. Yes, Cralson, you are correct. So it seems like these demons have started their attack on the Mach Imperium. It isnt confirmed but there is a very high possibility since they face the ocean where they came from. I suppose we are ready to reveal to the world our current predicament. 1500 June 18th, 2020 CE Somewhere along Interstate 280, San Francisco Andrew shook his head. San Francisco is really a terrible place to defend. We are on a peninsula being attacked on all sides. I hope we can get out of here soon. Andrew and Terry stood at the edge of the highway crowded with cars. Although their view of San Francisco was blocked by houses and hills, they could see the black smoke rising into the sky from the general direction of the city. Terry looked over Any ideas of where you are going to go after this? Hm? Our homes are overrun by monsters. Where are you gonna live until our military takes back San Francisco? Andrew frowned. We arent exactly out of danger yet so I havent thought of it. Better to start thinking early. It will definitely take some time for us to be able to return to San Francisco. I might go to my parents-in-laws place or try to see if my old home that I sold to that company has been bought yet. Have your parents-in-law forgiven you for Terry stopped himself as Andrews face darkened. If you really need a place, my grandpa might be willing to take you. He''s an ex-cop and his house definitely has space. Andrew smiled. I might take you up on that offer. I will probably go there too. Ha I literally just bought my house in San Francisco. Im not sure if it''s still there. Andrew chuckled. Well, now Im glad that I rented my home. I dont have to pay my rent this month and I don''t own the place so I dont have to worry about it. Anthony called out to them from a distance. I want you guys over here to direct the flow of traffic! A few minutes later Cars slowly crawled in front of them. Other than one empty lane, the two way highway was filled with cars going the same direction, out of San Francisco. Andrew cursed at his phone." I havent been able to reach my kids at all. They are in a helicopter and probably dont have good reception. I cant contact my wife either but Im sure shes safe. Andrew looked up into the sky. I promised her that I will protect them. Terry nodded slowly. And you will keep that promise. Dont worry about it. The sound of helicopters could be heard getting closer. Andrew and Terry looked up as military helicopters flew over them. They had to brace themselves as the helicopters were flying so low that the winds from the rotors could be felt. Terrys hat flew off into the distance but Andrew held onto his. Oh well, there goes my hat. Seems to be attack helicopters from the Marines. Wont they get shot down? We saw what happened to those jets. The military is the military. Im not sure what they are up to but Im glad they are here. Hopefully they are successful. Mission Valley, Fremont, California It has been going well so far. They had escaped the monsters and saved all of the students and teachers. However, David was still visible with worry as he scanned the surroundings. He was sitting in the passenger seat at the front of his humvee as their convoy sped down Paseo Padre Parkway in an effort to distance themselves from the monsters. Because of their earlier warnings, the parkway was mostly clear of cars. What really worried him was that his entire group was now just a mishmash of around 24 able National Guard soldiers and a few police officers that had been escorting the high school group. They didnt have any heavy weapons on them so they couldnt possibly face a horde of those monsters. David was lost in thought but the sight of helicopters brought him back to reality. His second lieutenant came over the comms. <<>> There was a moment of silence before his second lieutenant talked again. <<>> David looked behind him and didnt see the last truck. A curse word floated through his head. A few minutes earlier Luke closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths as he rested next to Hayden. He rubbed his head. He was sick and tired of what had been happening so far and wanted to go home. Lukes mental complaints were stopped because he felt a force suddenly fling him forward as the truck came to an abrupt stop. Then he felt an impact that caused the truck to veer to the left. Luke sat up coughing. He literally had enough of this. This was the second vehicle accident he had in a single day. Ughhhh what the fuck not this again. A voice shouted a couple seconds later. Everybody get out. Come on! Wake up! Including Luke, a few others walked out of the back of the truck. A lot of people were still unconscious inside the cargo bed of the truck. A girl looked around. What happened? I dont see another one of those monsters. Looking at the cab of the truck, they instantly found the answer. A red sedan had slammed into the side of the truck. The airbag had been deployed and the driver of the red sedan was slumped onto it. Luke sighed as a few went to investigate. Luke shouted to one of the boys who went to the cab. Are the soldiers at the front of the truck alright? The boy had opened the door to the cab. One of them is unconscious. The other is The boy looked away and into the street while covering his mouth. That was enough for Luke to understand what happened to the other. Luke and a couple others pulled out the surviving but unconscious soldier. A rifle dropped out from the cab. More people gathered outside the truck as more had regained consciousness. There were murmurs amongst everyone. What do we do now? Holy shit. That guys dead. This is bad. Where is the rest of the convoy? A screech filled the air and they all became quiet. Luke slowly turned to the right and realized why the car had slammed into the truck. It was trying to escape one of the monsters. Much smaller than the other monsters they had seen, it was looking at all of them with its red eyes. Its black pupils switching between them. Its spear-like nose swung around. Luke gulped. Everybody stood in silence and didnt dare move. None of the soldiers were conscious. There were no police officers or teachers in their truck either. They were just a bunch of high school students. The monster started galloping towards them. Luke panickily looked around. His eyes darted everywhere. There was a rifle on the ground but he had no idea how to use it. Everybody was frozen in fear. Luke shut his eyes and braced himself. Chapter 108 – San Francisco is Lost Part 4 RonTheBlackCat Sorry about the delay! College been tiring. Well, its my second week into my college semester and I''m already feeling the grind. Lol so much stuff to do. So little time. At least my life can''t get harder than this... right? Discord --> https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 4 chapters ahead for $2 Patreon-only battlemap animations or simple short battle animations every 3 weeks (Currently released: Chapter 2 Battle Against The Birds) https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1523 June 18th, 2020 CE Mission Valley, Fremont, California In his mind, the world seemingly slowed down. I am so dead. That thought coursed through Lukes brain as he saw himself in slow motion raising his hands in an instinctive yet futile effort to save himself. He knew for certain that the spear of the monster would pierce right through him. Then everything, suddenly, went back to regular speed as gunshots went off besides him. Lukes hands went from futilely shielding himself to quickly covering his ears from the piercing noise. He blinked and looked to where the gunfire was from. Standing just to his left, Hayden had grabbed the rifle on the ground. He fired another burst into the monster. The monster stopped charging, staggered a bit and roared. The bullets clearly were hurting it. The creature turned its attention towards Hayden, its red eyes seemingly burning with hatred, and began its charge. Hayden, with a face that showed no panic, looked down the sights of the gun and fired a few more shots. This time, the shots hit the monsters skull as purple blood flowed down its head. The monster slowed down as if in shock and collapsed Luke stared in amazement, instantly forgetting about how close he was to becoming a meal. ...holy shit. You know how to shoot a gun? Luke looked towards the dead monster. What the hell was that? Holy shit. This is California where did you Hayden had a sheepish smile on his face as he rubbed his neck with his left hand. My grandparents live in Arizona. Getting a gun there is very easy. I have been on the range there every time I went. You didnt strike me as someone interested in guns. It was nice to shoot targets and get away from the problems in my life. A classmate interrupted them. Ummmm I dont want to disturb you guys conversations but we have more problems coming our way. They looked down the road where the dead monster laid and couldnt believe their eyes. From further down the road, a dozen red, seemingly pissed off eyes stared at them. These ones were much larger than the one they had killed. They moved slowly towards them, seemingly incapable of going faster due to their size. But it was certain that they were pissed. Hayden pulled up his rifle in position and aimed again. Steadying himself, he hit the trigger of the rifle. Instead of the expected gunshot sound, nothing happened. He hit a couple of times and then blinked. Uhhtch no ammo. Do any of you see any magazines lying around? Everybody started looking around on the ground. As Luke looked around, he noticed that most of the students had finally recovered from being knocked out by the crash. Hayden called out again. Check the soldiers. They should have ammo on them. Quickly. Luke tapped Haydens shoulder. Hayden. I think they are slow enough. We have to run away. Hayden looked towards the monster and then turned his head back to Luke and the others. Are any of the soldiers awake? The injured one is awake but I don''t think he can help us that much. We need some people to carry the soldiers. Together, a couple students tried to lift the unconscious soldier from the front seat of the cab. I found some ammo! Catch! A magazine was thrown at Hayden and he caught it and slammed it into the gun. Just as Hayden aimed to fire, fiery explosions blinded him and Luke. The grounds where the monsters stood tore up. Everybody stopped to look at the scene in front of them. The shrieks of the dying monsters could be heard. In their panic to leave, they didnt hear the whirring helicopters above them. Two gray colored military helicopters hovered overhead as bullets spewed from them. Holy shit. Attack helicopters! The firing soon stopped and not a single one of the monsters stood alive. Trucks from their convoy pulled up. Are you guys alright? A few minutes later <<>> Before Ronell could say anything else, Henry spoke. << https://discord.gg/mhjetEK Read 4 chapters ahead for $2 https://www.patreon.com/user?u=33496388 1610 June 18th, 2020 CE San Jose International Airport (Forward Operating Base) Eric stood among his platoon listening to Second Lieutenant Ryan Scottfield as he gave them a more detailed briefing than Captain Martinez. We will be deployed to defend whatever parts of Interstate 280 that are still being held in San Francisco. We will be backed up by 3rd Platoon. An anti-armor squad, a TOW squad, and a heavy machine gun section will be joining us as well. It seems like the LAV-25s just got here on time so we may have them at our disposal. Private First Class Gregor Edwards, a grenadier in his squad, looked at Ryan with questioning eyes. Didnt the Captain say we will be facing demons that can throw Humvees? Yep. So that will be all our forces? Yep. Other than disorganized local law enforcement and Guardsmen, yes. 1st Platoon will be busy securing the evacuation sites in the City College of San Francisco. As the Captain said, Fox Company will be keeping our rear together so we can get the heck out if things go to hell. What about Golf Company? They got sent to East Bay cause those things are over there as well. Any other questions? Everybody stayed silent. Ryan sighed. I know that this is the first time some of you have had odds so stacked against you. Some of you havent even seen combat before. But just like how good ol Chesty, who once commanded our specific battalion, once said about communists, we are First Marines and not all the demons in hell can overrun us. Ooorah! Let''s make him proud boys! Interstate 280, San Francisco <<>> Andrew tapped Terry on his shoulder. You hear that? I think that''s our cue. Come on. As Andrew and Terry got closer to the on-ramp, the sound of rifle fire got louder. They had to weave and squeeze through the cars that were bumper to bumper on the highway. Andrews eyes darted around looking at all the people in their cars. An elderly couple in a sedan, a family of four in an SUV, a clearly pregnant mother with her son sitting right beside her. Most of them were looking towards where the sound of shooting was coming from. Most had fear and worry on their faces. Some looked at them with a bit of hope. They hurriedly ran off the off-ramp and onto Monterey Boulevard. At the three way intersection in front of them, the one where Acadia Street went into Monterey Boulevard, multiple officers and a few Guardsmen with a Humvee were laying down withering fire. Andrew fired his rifle as the Lancefishs head appeared. Since Acadia Street was an uphill road, the first thing that always appeared was the Lancefishs nose. A small mound of monster corpses were already forming at the top of the road. Because there were also houses on both sides of the street, it was the perfect chokepoint for funneling these creatures. A few minutes later <<>> Besides Andrew and Terry, Corporal White shouted into his radio. The situation on Acadia Street is stable. I can send a couple officers. White turned towards them. Andrew! Terry! I need you two to get into your cars and get to Forester Street as fast as possible! Shit. Andrews police car screeched to a halt. The Lancefishes had clearly pushed past the mouth of the intersection. Officers and Guardsmen were still trying to hold onto the middle of the boulevard. Andrew and Terry got out of their cars and opened fire while shielding themselves using the car doors. Although the car doors were completely useless if the monsters came barreling down towards them, it gave them a sense of safety. Terry shouted while shooting Where the hell are those attack helicopters from earlier!? I dont know! Reloading or some shit? It didnt take long for the Lancefishes to notice two guys shooting them in their vulnerable sides. Three monsters turned towards them. Ah fuck. Explosions rocked the ground in front of them. An attack helicopter flew in a straight line down Forestor Street, rockets spewing out of it onto the monsters below. The sound of its minigun could then be heard. Fucking hell. They took their merry time to get here. Cheers and whoops rose out of the men on the intersection. Some even waved at the helicopter. 1635 June 18th, 2020 CE Interstate 280 near Daly City A convoy of sixteen Humvees led by two LAV-25 sped down Interstate 280. In the lanes beside them, civilian cars crowded them. His squad commander, Sergeant Julian Shelton, commented on it. Good thing they kept this lane open. Eric looked over his shoulder. Couldnt we have used the Ospreys and flown over this? Something about them being needed to get more guys and stuff over here. The situation at the front is also not that clear at the moment so they dont know where we should be dropped off. On that note, we should probably slow down once we enter San Francisco. Dont want to run into one of those things. 1940 June 18th, 2020 CE 1120 Sun 48th, 196 AE Primopolis, Magus Imperium In the throne room, Magician officials lined both sides. Jimmy stood in the middle and Emperor Arstant sat on his throne. Does your nation need any assistance? The Magus Imperium would be glad to provide it. Jimmy shook his head. My government fears that these creatures may be preparing to land on the shores of the Mach Imperium. We would like to request your nations assistance in defending against them once they do arrive there. Our country would only be able to provide limited support to the Machians and we fear that these monsters may overrun them. Arstant frowned. What sort of assistance? Boots on the ground. We are hoping that you will send your military to bolster and help the Magus. Rubbing his beard, the Magusian Emperor contemplated the request. I am afraid that is not possible. To support a nation that had been our archnemesis and the greatest threat to our sovereignty for a hundred and twenty years would only cause an uproar in my court, my populace, and my soldiers. On top of that, these monsters may land directly on my country, requiring me to have the full might of my military available. We are certain that these monsters will not be landing directly in your country as they have only appeared in the seas facing the Mach. I do understand your first sentiment. But if these monsters trample through the Mach Imperium. Who will be its next target? This is a matter of your countrys own safety. You could prepare until these monsters arrive on your borders but the damage will then extend to within your country. Arstant fidgeted around as if agonizing over the issue. Multiple expressions flashed through his face as he gave it thought. Give me some time to discuss this with a few of my most trusted officials. These monsters have yet to appear on this continent so it does not seem urgent. I will see what I can do. Thank you. Before you go, the offer for support to your country is still on the table. That is the least we can do for your country helping us defeat the Mach. Washington D.C. A group of aerial photographs were laid down in front of Ronell. An aide explained what they were. Mr. President, we have spotted something rather massive 100 miles off the coast. We have some photos via satellite, courtesy of the National Spatial-Intelligence Agency, and we are also sending a drone over it. Ronell held one of the photos in his hand while scratching his head. A giant dark red rectangle? We think it''s some sort of massive radar system. We are detecting signals from it. It''s likely what they have been using to detect and help shoot down our aircraft.